Poland vs. Germany: reigning champions to meet comeback kings in Sofia Quarterfinal
Recap
Poland and Germany became the first two teams that booked their tickets to the CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 Men Quarters. The two teams will lock horns in a battle for semi-final spot on Tuesday in Arena 8888 Sofia on Tuesday.
In the first fixture of the day, the reigning #EuroVolleyM champions, Poland outclassed Latvia in straight sets. The match marked the first-ever EuroVolley encounter between the two nations and saw Poland reach the tournament’s quarterfinal stage for the sixth time in their history.
In a heart-stopping second match in Sofia, Germany staged a monumental comeback to shock home favourites Bulgaria, mounting a relentless rally from two sets down to capture a thrilling 3-2 victory and book their spot in the EuroVolley 2026 quarterfinals. The dramatic triumph echoed their previous EuroVolley encounter in 2021, when Germany also knocked Bulgaria out in the Round of 16 with a 3-1 victory in Ostrava.
Poland vs Latvia 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-16)
Poland established early control in the opening set, breaking away from a 2-2 tie to build leads of 4-2 and 6-2 on the back of a dominant net presence, prompting an early Latvian timeout. Operating with clinical efficiency, Poland extended the cushion to 11-5, 15-7, and 18-9 before holding off a brief late push at 19-12 to comfortably claim the frame.
The statistical story was defined by Poland’s absolute supremacy at the net, where they registered seven kill blocks to none. The Polish offence functioned at a high level with a 64% to 34% execution rate in attack, supported by superior backcourt control with a 63% to 40% edge in positive reception. Both sides recorded one ace each.
Latvia showed strong resilience early in the second set, trading high-quality transition rallies through 4-4, 5-6, and 7-6 to hold a narrow one-point edge despite Poland’s sharp floor defence. However, the Polish squad quickly turned the tables to grab an 8-7 lead, steadily expanding their advantage to 14-10 before pulling away to secure the set.
Poland pushed even harder in attack during the second frame, elevating their execution rate to 67% compared to Latvia’s 37%. The Polish wall at the net remained active with four kill blocks to two, while both teams posted identical backcourt passing numbers at 58% positive reception. Poland also held the slight baseline edge with one ace to none.
Latvia made an energetic start in the third set, taking early leads of 3-1, 4-3, and 5-3. Poland quickly erased the deficit to level at 5-5 following a super spike by Tomasz Fornal and a baseline ace from Bartłomiej Bołądz. From there, the Polish team methodically targeted Latvia's vulnerabilities, maintaining steady control through the middle exchanges to pull away and close out the final set, completing the straight-sets sweep.
Tomasz Fornal anchored the performance as the match's top scorer with 19 points, including a dominant six kill blocks. On the Latvian side, Kristers Landzans led the scoring effort with 11 points, including one ace.
Overall, Poland dominated the final match statistics, controlling the net with 14 kill blocks to four and out-attacking Latvia 63% to 38%. Poland also held the upper hand in the backcourt with 56% to 45% positive reception and established clear baseline pressure with five aces to one.
Bartłomiej Lemański“The whole game was for sure under our control, from the beginning of every set. I think we played pretty well. We didn’t allow our opponents to fully show themselves. We were putting pressure on them all the time, and that’s why we won. We will see if we play with Bulgaria or the other team in the next phase. With Bulgaria, the hall will be filled like last time, so it’s always a very emotional game, and we have to be focused on that one. But we focus on every match, so it’s nothing different.”
Player of Poland
Janis Medenis“I'm really grateful for our performance. This EuroVolley is the first one in my career. So this was a big boost for my individual performance. Every player should go through this tournament - the atmosphere is really professional, and there are amazing teams like Poland. You don't play every day against such teams. I told myself and my team to enjoy every second because you never know what's going to happen. We reached our goal in the playoffs for our small country, so overall I'm really satisfied.”
Player of Latvia
Germany vs Bulgaria 3-2 (21-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-12)
Germany put early pressure on Bulgaria’s reception to lead 4-2, but an Alex Grozdanov ace leveled the score at 4-4. The teams then traded blows in a tight point-for-point battle through 7-7.
Germany found success with strong attacks through the middle to lead 12-11, but a Simeon Nikolov ace sparked a decisive Bulgarian run to push the margin to 17-13. Germany fought back within one at 17-16 off a Tim Peter ace, but Aleks Nikolov responded in the clutch with a kill and two aces for a 23-18 cushion. Anton Brehme answered with a late ace for 21-23, but a German service error out of the timeout handed Bulgaria the opening set.
Germany held the edge in attack efficiency (62% to 48%) and positive reception (35% to 33%), but Bulgaria controlled the baseline with 5 aces to 3. Clean execution also favored the hosts, as Germany committed twice as many unforced errors (8 to 4).
An ace from Iliya Petkov gave Bulgaria early momentum in the second set before Erik Röhrs fired back-to-back aces for Germany to tie the frame at 4-4. Bulgaria quickly responded with a dominant run to build a 9-5 lead, prompting a German timeout. Maintaining their rhythm, the Bulgarians capitalized on mounting German unforced errors to expand their cushion to 14-10 and 16-10. A late lapse in concentration from the hosts allowed Germany to storm back, with a Moritz Reichert service ace pulling Germany within a single point at 19-20. However, Bulgaria regrouped in time to regain their composure and pull away to claim the set.
Bulgaria showed marked improvement in offensive execution during the second set, out-attacking Germany 58% to 44%. The hosts also dominated the passing game with a 46% to 17% edge in positive reception and held the baseline advantage with 4 aces to 3.
Aleks Nikolov opened Set 3 with an ace for 2-1, but Germany capitalised on Bulgarian errors to take a 10-9 lead, extending it to 11-9 on an Anton Brehme ace. Alex Grozdanov answered with a monster block to tie it at 12-12, but Bulgaria struggled in defence as Germany pulled ahead 18-15. Another Brehme ace for 22-17 helped Team Germany to get closer to the set win. Germany out-attacked Bulgaria 56% to 39%, held a 38% to 33% reception edge, and recorded 3 aces to 1.
The fourth set stayed tight to 6-6 before Martin Atanasov’s spike and a Simeon Nikolov ace put Bulgaria up 8-6. Grozdanov added a monster block for 13-11, but German central attacks and a Tim Peter ace flipped the lead to 20-18, expanding to 22-18. Asparuh Asparuhov’s ace (20-22) and a Simeon Nikolov block (21-22) pulled Bulgaria within one, but a service error at 22-24 helped Germany take it 25-23. Despite superior Bulgarian attack (56% to 50%) and reception (60% to 43%), 10 Bulgarian service errors (to Germany’s 4) proved fatal.
In the tiebreak, Grozdanov’s block gave Bulgaria an early 2-1 edge before Germany went ahead 4-2. Simeon Nikolov’s kill and ace tied it at 5-5, but a German block at 10-8 broke the frame open. Surrendering 5 service errors in the fifth set-including match point-Bulgaria fell 15-11, ending their EuroVolley run.
Overall, Germany finished as more successful on attack: 53% to 48%, while Bulgaria proved better on the blocking (8 to 7 blocks) and seized more aces:13 to 11.
Bulgaria also let more own errors (41) affect the score (Germany finished with 32).
Aleksandar Nikolov finished as top scorer of the match (23 points) while for the winners’ team Erik Röhrs recorded 20.