European Golden League semi-finals confirmed

Following completion of the League Round this past weekend, Volleyball fans can now look forward to the final stage of this year’s CEV Volleyball European Golden League, with Kortrijk (Belgium) and Ruse (Bulgaria) due to host the Final Four events for men and women, respectively, on June 19-20.

After finishing second in Pool A, the young Red Dragons captained by Sam Deroo will be playing Ukraine in the men’s semis, in a match where the hosts will be trying to stand the mighty spikes and serves of Ukrainian star players Oleh Plotnytskyi and Dmytro Viietskyi. This fixture will be a repeat of the EuroVolley 2019 8^th final matchup, where Ukraine emerged victorious at the tiebreak before losing to eventual champions Serbia in the quarterfinals.

European Golden League defending champions Turkey will play Pool A winners Estonia in the other semi-final. Turkey were truly dominant in the group stage of the competition, conceding only two sets to their opponents in Pool C. Adis Lagumdzija & Co. are hoping to retain the title they claimed in 2019 in Tallinn – where they upset Estonia 3-1 in the semis. Estonia, however, will be a hard nut to crack even for a very solid Turkey after Oliver Venno and Renee Teppan helped the Baltic team record six wins in as many matches in Pool A, dropping only four sets in the process.

Estonia won the competition in 2016 and 2018, Ukraine achieved this feat in 2017 and Turkey two years later – so Belgium are the only one among the four teams competing in Kortrijk that is yet to taste European League glory.

At the women’s Final Four in Ruse, where a major Volleyball competition returns after the 2018 edition of the men’s World Championship, Spain and Croatia will open the programme as they lock horns in the first semi-final. Croatia made it through to the Final Four after finishing second in Pool C where they managed to improve the quality of their performance with each match – whereas Spain claimed top spot in a tightly contested Pool A. This matchup will be a repeat of the 2019 semi-final in Varaždin, where Croatia used the home court advantage to claim a 3-1 victory.

The ’Lionesses’ of Bulgaria will play 2019 gold medal winners Czech Republic in the second semi-final – and enjoy the privilege of playing before a home crowd again after doing so already this past weekend in Plovdiv. The Bulgarian authorities have indeed lifted some of the toughest restrictions in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, allowing the return of fans for up to 50% of the total capacity for any events held indoors.

Bulgaria previously won the European League title in 2018 in Budapest, while the Czechs have two European League crowns to their name – which they won in 2012 and 2019. Croatia and Spain have a second (2019) and a third place (2017) respectively as their best result in the competition this far.

You will be able to follow all matches of the European Golden League Finals on EuroVolleyTV.*

*Geo-restrictions may apply.