The 3:2 (21:25, 28:26, 25:16, 20:25, 15:13) victory over Italy turned Finland into the big sensation of EuroVolley 2026. But if anyone thinks the Finns appeared out of nowhere in Turin, their recent results show exactly the opposite.
Finland arrived at the European Championship as world No. 16, a two-time consecutive winner of the European League, and had already earned the right to play in VNL 2027. EuroVolley simply accelerated their rise – from No. 16, the Finns have now reached No. 12 in the world, eliminated Italy, qualified among the top four in Europe, and secured participation in the World Championship 2027.
The next big goal is already on the horizon – Los Angeles 2028.

Two European Leagues and a deserved spot in VNL

The Finnish rise began long before the sensation in "PalaVela". In 2025, the team won the European Golden League, and in 2026, they defended the trophy in an impressive manner – 10 wins from 10 matches.
The final against the Netherlands was particularly important. This was not just a battle for the European trophy. The stake was also a place in VNL 2027, as before the two final matches, Finland was No. 17 in the world with 207.37 points, and the Netherlands was No. 18 with 205.61. CEV explicitly stated that the direct clash between the two teams would also determine who would get the right to join the Nations League.
The Finns did not leave the calculations to the algorithm. They defeated the Netherlands twice by 3:1 – first with 3:1 (27:25, 23:25, 25:23, 25:13) in Nokia, and then with 3:1 (25:15, 20:25, 25:18, 25:21) in The Hague. The second success marked the end of a perfect campaign – 10 wins in 10 matches and a second consecutive title in the European League. Thus, Finland did not receive a place in the VNL by invitation or administrative decision. They earned it on the court in a direct battle with the Netherlands.

Russia returned, but Finland kept its deserved spot

However, the issue with Russia then arose. FIVB decided that the Russian national team would be reinstated in VNL 2027 as the highest-ranked team outside the competition.
This raised the question of how Finland's already earned spot would be preserved. FIVB's decision was to expand the VNL for 2027 from 18 to 19 teams. The International Federation explicitly stated that in this way, Finland for men and Slovenia for women, who earned their places through their performance, would retain participation in the tournament. This decision could prove extremely important for the next stage of the Finnish team's development. VNL means constant official matches against the world elite, and each of them will also matter for the world ranking.

Finland also has its brothers – Luka and Nooa Marttila

Behind the numbers, there are also recognizable faces. And for the Bulgarian audience, one of the most interesting similarities is obvious – just as Bulgaria has the brothers Aleksandar and Simeon Nikolov, so in the new Finnish generation, the brothers Luka and Nooa Marttila are growing up.
Luka is 23 years old, Nooa is 21, and both are outside hitters. They have played together since their youth, and now they share the court in the senior national team. During EuroVolley, CEV itself dedicated a special article to the two, presenting them as Finland's rising local stars. There is also a curious play on words. The Finnish national team is known as "Veljekset" – "The Brothers". With the presence of Luka and Nooa, this name now has a very literal dimension. However, the Marttila brothers are not just a curious family story. They already play a real role in the great Finnish breakthrough. In the 3:2 (22:25, 25:16, 22:25, 25:23, 15:13) victory over Greece in the round of 16, CEV highlighted Luka, Nooa, and opposite Joona Jokela as key figures for the success. Luka took another big step against Italy. He finished with 22 points, while Jokela scored 28 in the sensational victory in Turin. Thus, the Finnish rise now has its faces – Jokela and the Marttila brothers.
The parallel with Bulgaria, of course, is not complete, but it is curious. Two of the interesting young European national teams have brothers from the same generation as an important part of their future – Aleksandar and Simeon Nikolov for Bulgaria, Luka and Nooa Marttila for Finland.

EuroVolley accelerated the leap

At EuroVolley 2026, Finland showed that the results in the European League were not a coincidence. The northerners started the tournament as world No. 16 with 218.01 points. This was followed by victories over Denmark, Belgium, and Serbia, and the 2:3 loss to Estonia was the only serious rating blow in the group. In the round of 16, Finland overcame Greece with 3:2 (22:25, 25:16, 22:25, 25:23, 15:13). And then came Italy. In front of 8260 spectators in Turin, the Finns eliminated the hosts with 3:2 (21:25, 28:26, 25:16, 20:25, 15:13). Italy led 11:8 in the tie-break, but Finland turned it around to 15:13 and reached the European Championship semi-finals only for the second time in their history after 2007.

From No. 16 to No. 12

The victory over Italy brought another 11.48 points for the world ranking, and Finland is now No. 12 with 242.58 points. Thus, during EuroVolley alone, their total increased by 24.57 points, and the team moved up four positions – from No. 16 to No. 12. There is another very important detail here. The four teams that continue in EuroVolley are Poland, Slovenia, France, and Finland. Poland is No. 1 in the world, Slovenia is No. 6, France is No. 8, and Finland is No. 12. This means that all other participants in Milan are already ahead of the Finns in the world ranking. There is no European pursuer behind Finland who is still participating and could displace them with points from the remaining matches.
The only men's continental championship that can still lead to changes is the African one. However, the participants there are much further down in the world ranking and do not pose an immediate threat to Finland's position around the world Top 12. Moreover, Finland's remaining opponents are from the world elite. In the semi-final, they face No. 8 France, and if they qualify for the final, the opponent will be No. 1 Poland or No. 6 Slovenia. This creates a curious rating situation – a new victory can bring significant gains, while the cost of a defeat against such highly ranked opponents will be significantly smaller.

Turin also opened the door to the World Championship 2027

The victory over Italy brought another huge reward. Finland has already secured participation in the 2027 World Championship in Poland. EuroVolley awards three quotas for the World Championship. Poland is already qualified as host, and the other three semi-finalists – Finland, France, and Slovenia – took the European quotas. Volleyball World confirmed the qualification of the three teams after the semi-final four was formed.
Thus, within one summer, Finland gathered two extremely important acquisitions for the next part of the Olympic cycle – a spot in VNL 2027 and a ticket to the 2027 World Championship.

And suddenly Los Angeles is no longer far away

This is where the world No. 12 ranking begins to acquire much greater value. The qualification system for Los Angeles 2028 offers Finland several paths. The first is still at EuroVolley – the European champion receives a direct Olympic quota. Finland is only two wins away from it.
If that doesn't happen, then comes the 2027 World Championship, for which the Finns have already qualified. Olympic quotas will also be distributed from there.
And if neither of these two paths leads to Los Angeles, there remains a third – the world ranking after the preliminary phase of VNL 2028, from which the last three participants in the Olympic tournament will be determined.
That's precisely why the climb from No. 17 in the summer, No. 16 before EuroVolley, and now No. 12 after the victory over Italy is not just a statistical curiosity. Finland is already high enough to realistically participate in this battle. And in 2027, they will also receive something extremely valuable – a whole season in the VNL against the strongest teams in the world and then the World Championship in Poland.

The victory over Italy is not the beginning of the story

It's easy to reduce everything to one evening in Turin. World champions Italy were eliminated in front of their home crowd, and Finland produced one of the biggest sensations of the European Championship.
But that would miss the most important part. Finland had already won the European League two consecutive years. They had gone through the 2026 edition with 10 wins from 10 matches. They had beaten the Netherlands twice in a direct dispute for a spot in the VNL. They had reached No. 16 in the world even before the first ball of EuroVolley.
And in this generation, Joona Jokela and two brothers who can become its symbols – Luka and Nooa Marttila – are already standing out. Turin simply made this rise visible to everyone.
Now Finland is No. 12 in the world, a EuroVolley semi-finalist, a participant in VNL 2027, and already has a ticket to the 2027 World Championship. The next stop is Milan.
And the big goal is now clearly visible beyond it – Los Angeles 2028.

photo:cev.eu