Bulgaria hand Poland first defeat, North Macedonia down Israel in straight sets to wrap up Pool B

North Macedonia finished on a positive note in their last matchup of their CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 Men campaign, outclassing Israel in straight sets on Day 8 of Pool B action at Arena 8888 Sofia.

This marked the first win for head coach Joško Milenkoski’s squad in a demanding Pool B lineup featuring Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Portugal, and Israel. The result sees both North Macedonia and Israel conclude their EuroVolley journeys, while Portugal advances as the fourth team from the pool to the knockout stage.

In the other clash of the day, which also marked the end of the Pool phase in Sofia, host nation Bulgaria locked horns with reigning #EuroVolleyM champions Poland. In what became a real Volleyball thriller, the Bulgarian Lions handed the Poles their first defeat at the tournament (3-2).

With the pool stage action concluded in Sofia, fans are already looking forward to exciting eight-finals matches: on Saturday, Poland will meet Latvia and Bulgaria face Germany. On Sunday, the action will continue with Ukraine - Romania and France - Portugal. 

Israel vs North Macedonia 0-3 (21-25, 23-25, 22-25)

North Macedonia came out firing in the opening set, setting an energetic pace to build early leads of 5-2, 8-4, and 10-5. Executing with high precision and clever court vision, the North Macedonians maintained control through 12-7. Israel mounted a steady mid-set comeback to close the gap to 15-14 and push the score to 19-19, but North Macedonia locked down the final stretch, capping off the frame 25-21 with a monster block at the net.

North Macedonia's sharp tactical approach was reflected in their superior offensive efficiency, out-attacking Israel 67% to 48%. They also controlled the backcourt with a 48% to 35% advantage in positive reception, while adding a block and an ace to secure the set.

Israel jumped out to an early 6-4 lead in the second set, but both teams struggled to establish a consistent rhythm as the score leveled at 12-12. Playing with heightened tension, Israel began committing unforced errors, allowing North Macedonia to play more freely and unlock their potential. A monster block gave the North Macedonians a crucial break point at 14-12, and they maintained control through 16-13 and 22-18 behind sharp offensive execution. Israel mounted a late push at the net to close the gap to 22-21 and save a set point at 24-23, but North Macedonia held their ground to take the frame 25-23.

Israel again started better in the third set, taking an early 5-3 lead, but North Macedonia erased the deficit to lock the score at 7-7 and 9-10. The two sides traded points through 15-14 before North Macedonia surged ahead 17-15. Riding that late momentum, the team of Joshko Milenkoski crushed the closing exchanges to finish the set and secure a straight-sets victory, closing out their EuroVolley campaign on a positive note despite not advancing to the knockout stage.

Across the match, North Macedonia held the upper hand in attack with a 55% to 45% execution rate. They also dominated from the baseline with three aces to none, while both teams recorded five kill blocks each. Unforced mistakes proved fatal for Israel, who registered 19 total errors - including 10 in the third set alone -compared to 17 errors for North Macedonia.

Nikola Gjorgiev topped the charts for his team with 20 points to his name, while Stojan Iliev added 14.

For Israel, Shay Liberman finished with a match-high of 21 points.

Poland vs Bulgaria 2-3 (25-20, 29-31, 23-25, 25-19, 18-20)

Pool B concluded with an electrifying finale as host nation Bulgaria outlasted Poland in a nerve-wracking, 144-minute five-set thriller before 13,000 passionate fans in a fully packed Arena 8888 Sofia. The dramatic victory handed the reigning EuroVolley and VNL champions their first defeat of the tournament.

Bulgaria took early command of the opening set at 6-4, but Poland found their stride through net defence to claim a 9-7 lead. Despite clutch service pressure from Simeon Nikolov and dynamic offence from Denislav Bardarov, Tomasz Fornal responded from the baseline to extend Poland's cushion to 16-11. The reigning champions held firm to secure the frame 25-20, making the difference at the net with three kill blocks to one and capitalising on cleaner discipline (four unforced errors to Bulgaria’s eight), despite Bulgaria posting superior positive reception (60% to 29%).

Poland surged to a 6-2 lead in the second set before Bardarov and Alex Grozdanov sparked a 4-0 Bulgarian run to close the gap to 8-10. Supported by Jakub Popiwczak’s floor defence, Poland restored a 15-10 cushion, but Bulgaria clawed back to level at 15-15. The teams traded blows into an extended deuce, where Martin Atanasov landed a crucial ace at 28-27 before Bulgaria sealed a marathon 31-29 victory. Bulgaria held the statistical edge across the set, out-attacking Poland 58% to 52% alongside a 50% to 39% reception advantage.

The third set saw Poland hold early leads before Preslav Petkov’s service turn sparked four unanswered points to put Bulgaria ahead 15-14. Bartlomiej Lemański answered to level at 16-16, but flying attacks from Bardarov and clutch scoring from Aleks Nikolov kept the hosts in front. Bartłomiej Bołądz fired an ace to draw level at 21-21, triggering a high-level duel between Nikolov and Fornal. At 23-23, Nikolov delivered consecutive decisive kills to close out the set 25-23 and put Bulgaria ahead 2-1.

Poland regrouped in the fourth set after trailing early at 3-5, using heavy serving from Kamil Semeniuk and Fornal alongside sharp block-defence transition to build a 15-10 advantage. Setter Moni Nikolov cut the deficit with an ace, but Lemański’s continuous pressure from the baseline expanded the margin to 23-17 before Poland wrapped up the set 25-19 to force a decider.

Bulgaria thrilled the home crowd in the tiebreak by storming out to an 8-4 lead. However, a brief lapse in concentration allowed Poland to chip away, setting up a tense, high-voltage finish inside Arena 8888. After a cat-and-mouse game, Aleks Nikolov and his teammates emerged victorious at 20-18.

Overall, Bulgaria outnumbered Poland in attack - 57% to 50% exc. in attack, while the Polish outperformed the Lions on the block: 13 to eight. 

Both teams finished with 46% positive reception and seven aces each. The Bulgarians let more own errors affect their game - 42, compared to 24 by the Poles.

Aleksandar Nikolov shone with 36 points to his name, becoming Best Scorer of the match, while for Poland, Kamil Semeniuk finished with 22.