Quest for #EuroLeagueM crown resumes with semis
News
The quest for the #EuroLeagueM crown resumes this weekend with the semis – League Round winners the Netherlands will play Israel twice on consecutive days in Doetinchem, whereas last year’s Golden League gold medallists Finland travel to Odense to play a solid Danish side that finished the League Round in third place. All these four teams secured this past weekend not only a spot among the top four of the competition, but also their right to participate in the CEV EuroVolley 2028.
After a flawless CEV European League campaign this far, the Netherlands will be back in action this weekend in the semi-finals. Israel will visit the SaZa Topsporthal in Doetinchem, with the tie being decided over two matches. The Netherlands dominated the group stage over the past month. Not only did the Orange team remain unbeaten, but it also won every single set it played. The opening match of the semi-final will take place on Saturday, 27 June, at 3:00 PM in the SaZa Topsporthal. The return match follows a day later, on Sunday, 28 June, at 1:00 PM, when the finalist will be decided.
Having finished first in the league phase, the Netherlands will face fourth-placed Israel in the semi-finals. Israel also won all of their group-stage matches but dropped five sets along the way. The Israelis recorded victories over Croatia, Georgia, Norway, Sweden, North Macedonia, and Kosovo. Outside hitter Shay Mayo Liberman leads the European League scoring charts with 134 points. Last season, Liberman played alongside Dutch setter Wessel Keemink at French club Nice Volley-Ball. Mark Rura has also been in excellent form for Israel, contributing 113 points so far. For the Netherlands, opposite hitter Silvester ‘Sil’ Meijs is currently the team’s top scorer with 90 points, continuing his impressive performances throughout the competition.
The Netherlands and Israel last met almost thirteen years ago in a FIVB World Championship qualification match, where the Dutch claimed a straight-sets victory (3-0). Israel won the bronze medal in last year’s European Golden League and will surpass that achievement if it reaches this year’s final at the expense of the Netherlands. In 2023, Israel lifted the European Silver League title. Israel is currently ranked 25th in the FIVB World Ranking, while the Netherlands sits five places higher in 20th. Should the Netherlands progress from the two-legged semi-final, it will play the first leg of the final away from home on 8 July, with the return leg scheduled for 11 July at the Sportcampus Zuiderpark in The Hague. Their head coach Joel Banks has selected the same squad that represented the Netherlands last week in their matches in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Itamar Stein, coach of the Israeli national team: “We are excited and ready for the two matches in the Netherlands. Of course, the Netherlands is a clear favourite, especially with the home advantage, but we take every game as a challenge and an opportunity to compete and show ourselves that we can play against a team of such quality at eye level. We thank everyone for the tremendous support we received last week and want to create more moments of joy and happiness for sports fans in Israel. We will give it our all on the court.”
In the other semi-final, last year’s Golden League winners Finland play Denmark. The organisers in Finland already expect a sold-out AGCO Power Arena in Nokia for the return match on July 1. These teams have not played each other in 7.5 years’ time – their last meeting was a EuroVolley qualifier in Mikkeli in early January 2019 which ended in a resounding 3-0 victory for the Finns. Finland and Denmark have played each other 38 times, with Finland leading the way with an impressive record of 32 wins, including the last six such fixtures. Denmark’s last victory came 24 years ago – in 2002 during the Nordic Championships. There is a lot at stake especially for the Finns – a place in the European League finals and keeping their hopes to compete in the VNL next year as they are racing against The Netherlands and Czechia for that honour. Denmark and Finland will play each other again later this year as they feature in the same pool for EuroVolley – the one due to take place in Tampere.
Team Finland captain Santeri Välimaa: “Our journey in the European League has gone really well so far. We have had a few challenging sets but mostly our game has been developing well. Now we face an entirely different challenge from what we have seen so far. Denmark is a very similar team to us with high confidence and youthful enthusiasm. We are ready and excited to face a team full of confidence and a loud home crowd in Odense!”
Finland head coach Olli Kunnari: “Denmark gives us a great challenge at this moment. They are a strong team playing with a lot of confidence right now. They have some world-class players and an experienced setter. Overall, they have quality players all the way. I am really looking forward to the tough battles for a place in the finals with another Nordic team.”