The Bulgarian men's national volleyball team already has some of the players outlined who will be included in the extended squad for the upcoming 2026 Nations League.
Although the list does not appear to be final, it provides a clear idea of the core around which coach Gianlorenzo Blengini's team will be built.
🏐 Names that have emerged
Notable setters are:
Simeon Nikolov – Lokomotiv Novosibirsk
Stoil Palev – Fano
Lyuboslav Telkiyski – Neftochimik
At the opposite hitter position:
Venislav Antov – Tourcoing
Dimitar Dimitrov
Among the outside hitters:
Aleksandar Nikolov – Lube Civitanova
Asparuh Asparuhov – Slepsk Suwalki
Georgi Tatarov – Grottazzolina
Martin Atanasov – Monza
Rusi Zhelev – Macerata
At the middle blocker position:
Alex Grozdanov – Bogdanka Lublin
Krasimir Georgiev – Steaua Bucharest
Preslav Petkov – Sorrento
Iliya Petkov – Monza
Boris Nachev
At libero position:
Martin Bozhilov – CSKA
Damyan Kolev – Levski
To this list should also be added:
Zhasmin Velichkov – outside hitter – Monza
According to our media's information, he is expected to be part of Bulgaria's expanded squad.
The schedule of the VNL tournaments and the European Championship U22 provides a clearer idea of Velichkov's possible participation.
The first VNL tournament is in Brazil (June 10–14), the second
– in Ljubljana (June 24–28), and the European Championship U22 is scheduled for June 29
– July 4.
This means that Monza's outside hitter has a time window to be part of the group for the first week of the tournament, but will almost certainly miss the second tournament in Slovenia due to his commitments with the youth national team.
On the other hand, the third week of the VNL in Chicago (mid-July) appears to be a completely realistic moment for his inclusion in the senior team.
According to our information, outside hitter Samuil Valchinov, who played in Ravenna this season, will also be included in the expanded squad. Viktor Zhekoff, Kostadin Kozelov, and Tomislav Rusev, who are in the U22 men's national team, will also join the training camp starting on April 26.
Bulgaria already has a clearly defined core for the 2026 Nations League, but the selection process has obviously not concluded. The names that have appeared provide a good basis for analyzing the team, and in the coming weeks, it will become clear whether the squad will be expanded and how it will be structured for the individual tournaments.
