#EuroBeachVolley 2024 Previews: Men’s Pools E-H

The best European beach volleyball teams have just arrived from Paris, where they worked hard to give the continent medals at the 2024 Olympics, but they will also have something big to play for the week after the Games.

With the 2024 CEV EuroBeachVolley heading to the Netherlands from August 13-18, it will be a quick turnaround for the top teams in the continent, who will be ready to fight for continental glory in front of the Dutch fans.

The tournament will begin with eight pools of four teams each and, after the completion of pool play, three duos in each group will move forward – the pool winners advance directly to the Round of 16 while the second and third-placed tandems move to the Round of 24.

As the competition approaches, let’s continue to take a look at the eight pools in each gender, completing our breakdown of the men’s tournament with Pools E, F, G and H.

Pool E

Teams: Stefan Boermans/Yorick de Groot (the Netherlands), Piotr Janiak/Jedrzej Brozyniak (Poland), Hugo Campos/João Pedrosa (Portugal) and Patrikas Stankevicius/Audrius Knasas (Lithuania)

Pool E starts with Boermans and De Groot as the clear favorites to advance in first place after the withdrawal of reigning world champions Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner of Czechia - the Dutch took silver in the EuroBeachVolley 2021 and were fifth at the Paris Olympics.

With the other three teams theoretically fighting for the other two spots, Stankevicius/Knasas and Campos Pedrosa technically start in better positions as while the Lithuanians have been consistently making progress at the international level, they are still chasing the breakthrough performance the Portuguese achieved last year with their victory at the Beach Pro Tour Edmonton Challenge – they will also be the first team in their country to compete at the EuroBeachVolley in 20 years.

Called in at the last minute to replace the Czechs, Janiak and Brozyniak have been consistently winning medal at the silver medal and will have an amazing opportunity to prove themselves at the next level.

Pool F

Teams: Michal Bryl/Bartosz Łosiak (Poland), Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen (the Netherlands), Jakub Sepka/Jiri Sedlak (Czechia) and Quentin Métral/Yves Haussener (Switzerland)

Pool F is very strong at the top, featuring not one, but two teams that are capable of winning medals this week. Bryl and Łosiak are ranked first and are, indeed, the duo with the strongest recent results among the four teams, despite their Round of 16 elimination in Paris.

It will be an emotional tournament for the Dutch as Meeuwsen will retire after more than a decade with Brouwer and they will certainly want a nice sendoff in front of their home fans.

Métral/Haussener and Sepka/Sedlak should fight for the third spot in the elimination rounds in a direct battle and the fact that the Swiss have been together for more time and have more experience at the top level gives them a little edge.

EuroBeachVolley - Men's Match Schedule

Pool G

Teams: Paolo Nicolai/Samuele Cottafava (Italy), Téo Rotar/Arnaud Gauthier-Rat (France), Julian Hörl/Alexander Horst (Austria) and Dirk Boehlé/Mees Sengers (the Netherlands)

Featuring five Olympians, Pool G has Cottafava and Nicolai as the most likely candidates to finish first given their most recent results, but the Italians will have to confirm that against tough opponents after falling in the Round of 16 in Paris.

Rotar and Gauthier-Rat are temporary partners but had some success playing together at the Beach Nations Cup a few months ago and can challenge the top teams in the continent. Hörl and Horst also played in the Games and have developed into a team capable of getting results at the highest level of international beach volleyball. Both sides left Paris winless and will be looking for better results in the Netherlands.

Boehlé and Sengers have been playing together since last year and won multiple medals at the Futures level on the Beach Pro Tour and although they enter the pool as the underdogs, they definitely cannot be disregarded playing with no pressure and in front of their home fans.

Pool H

Teams: Lukas Pfretzschner/Sven Winter (Germany), Timo Hammarberg/Philipp Waller (Austria), Marco Krattiger/Florian Breer (Switzerland) and Martins Plavins/Kristians Fokerots (Latvia)

Pool H is probably the most unpredictable one in the event as all four teams can finish anywhere from first to fourth without major surprise.

Pfretzschner and Winter have been the most successful among them recently, having gotten two medals in Beach Pro Tour Challenge events this year. Hammarber and Waller have the talent, but are a temporary team and that can be either a blessing or a curse for them in the Netherlands.

Krattiger and Breer have been solid and consistent over the years and are eager to show they can make the next step at the highest level at the EuroBeachVolley. Finally, Plavins and Fokerots have an interesting mix, reuniting one of the most accomplished Latvian players and the country's most promising young talent, who has had plenty of success at the youth level.