Immediately before the start of the important qualifying matches for the Men's U22 European Championship, unpleasant news came from the camp of the Bulgarian national team. Kristian Titriyski suffered an injury that will prevent him from taking part in the upcoming matches. The information came from the official website of the federation. This is a serious blow for the team and for head coach Ventsislav Simeonov, who had assigned Titriyski an important role in the game scheme.

🏐 Match Schedule

Despite the unexpected problems, Bulgaria will start its participation in the qualifying tournament with great ambitions. Here is the program:

• Friday, 5:30 PM— Bulgaria vs. Netherlands

• Saturday, 5:30 PM— Bulgaria vs. Norway

• Sunday, 5:30 PM— Bulgaria vs. Spain

There are a total of five qualifying groups, and the winners of each group, as well as the two best second-placed teams, will qualify for the European Championship.

🏟️ Tournament in Samokov

This year's tournament is being held in the newest and most modern sports hall in Bulgaria —"SamElion"in Samokov. This summer, the facility became a preferred training base for a number of national teams. Men's head coach Gianlorenzo Blengini described the conditions in the hall as among the best he has seen in his career.

🎟️ Tickets and Audience

A daily ticket for the matches costs10 leva, and will be sold at the "SamElion" ticket offices. For all fansunder 18 years old, admission is free, which is a great opportunity to spark young people's interest in volleyball.

1. 📝 Bulgaria's group

Head coach Ventsislav Simeonov announced the squad that will fight for qualification:

3. 🏐 Setters

• Rangel Vitekov(Beroe 2016)

• Viktor Zhekov(Montana)

8. 🏐 Opposites

• Ognyan Hristov(Beroe 2016)

• Georgi Bachvarov(Beroe 2016)

13. 🏐 Outside Hitters

• Aleksandar Kandev(Long Beach, USA)

• Nikolay Ivanov(Dobrudzha 07)

• Kristiyan Andreev(CSKA)

• Zhasmin Velichkov(Monza, Italy)

🏐 Middle Blockers

• Stiliyan Delibosov(California State University Northridge, USA)

• Tomislav Rusev(Pegasos Polihnis, Greece)

• Kostadin Kozelov(Pirin)

• Konstantin Dinov(Slavia)

🏐 Libero

• Yasen Petrov(Neftochimic 2010)

• Aleksandar Tsanev(Cherno More)

✅ Expectations and Hopes

Despite the absence of Kristian Titriyski, the team will try to show its best. The support of the audience in Samokov can play a key role, and the squad has many talents who will give their all for the goal - qualifying for the European Championship.