Denmark and Finland shock Pool C with two unpredictable results

Denmark won 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-20) against the Netherlands in the first match of day 3 of Pool C in Tampere. But at CEV Enel EuroVolley Men 2026 the surprises were just at the beginning, with Finland to clinch the tiebreak (23-25, 25-20, 25-19, 23-25, 15-10) against Belgium to secure their second win a row in a fully sold out Nokia Arena.

Belgium vs Finland 2-3 (25-23, 20-25, 19-25, 25-23, 10-15)

At Nokia Arena there wasn't a seat available for Finland-Belgium. In the match that broke the historic record of the most followed volleyball match in Finland with 12,338 people (the previous was 7,700), the “Veljekset” (the brothers, in Finnish) showed their best shots to Belgium in the first part of the set. It went on point on point, Luka Marttila and Joonas Jokela on fire for Finland and, on the other side of the net, captain Sam Deroo and Ferre Reggers. Belgium had to run after Finland until the very last points: the first time they took the lead was at 23-22, but it was enough for Deroo to score his ninth point and close the first set. In the second the Finnish had just to control their scoring, since they always were up by five to six points. Surrounded by a festive and cheering crowd, Finland found the energy on every action and at 16-17, thanks to an ace and a block from Miika Haapaniemi, they took the final break to cruise to a 25-20 win.

Also in the third set the Finnish didn’t find such opposition from the Red Dragons, who seemed to have lost their confidence of the beginning. Luka Marttila and middle blocker Severi Savonsalmi (five and four points, respectively) got superpowers from the Arena and they led their team to their second set win. The fourth set was for the first half in the hands of Finland, with the Marttila brothers playing a leading role. But in the second half, after 16-15 to Belgium, the course of the game changed. The Red Dragons, point after point, built up their comeback to the tiebreak. What to say for the final and fifth set: it was a solo play for Finland: digs, blocks, spikes they did everything to make their dream alive until the last whistle. And their dream came true with the victory.

Denmark vs The Netherlands 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-20)

When the two teams on the court both lost their first match of the tournament (Denmark against Finland and the Netherlands against Belgium), you know it’s going to be a real fight. And there was for sure, with Denmark starting very strong with left-handed opposite spiker Dahl who scored 6 points (including the last of the set, a powerful ace) and the Netherlands fighting back thanks to Silvester Mejis and Tom Koops (3 points both). The red-and-white, who were supported by hundreds of fans, just took control of the set with a 4-5 point gap and easily took the first set 25-17. 

The Netherlands wanted also to prove they want the win and at the beginning of the second set they took the lead 6-5, but it was just a moment, because Denmark’s comeback was just around the corner: middle blocker Simon Tabermann Uhrenholt and his fellas stopped and touched most of the attacks of the Dutch and so it was easier for captain Jacobsen to run the offense of his squad and  win also the second set. The third and final set was maybe the easiest one for the red-and-whites, which kept the consistency of the previous from the beginning to the end to catch at 25-20 the first win of CEV Enel EuroVolley Men and their historical first ever win against the Netherlands.