Italians silenced Polish fans. Polish volleyballers answered the same!

In the case of the competition of Poles with Italy on the volleyball pitch, we must not forget about what happened during this year’s League of Nations. The final tournament VNL 2025 ended with a Polish-Italian clash, in which the team of coach Nikola Grbcia triumphed unexpectedly in three sets.

– That meeting was actually surprisingly easy to win on our part. The Italians really made, if not them, childish mistakes, even from the training staff. So that it was definitely something extraordinary, that meeting. This current, semi -final meeting, at these world championships, will be a completely different story. It will definitely be fierce, you can see that Italians are “in gas”, they look very good in recent meetings. We are also growing somewhere in a form, so it will certainly be a nice battle and we will do everything to get out of this battle to enter the great, desired finale – he referred to the last and nearest match with Italy Kamil Semeniuk, in an interview with the spokesman for the Polish national team Mariusz Szyszko.

The host of the national team remembers both matches with Italy, which we will focus on in this text in particular. In 2023, in the final of the European Championships he was a reserve, but a year earlier in the game for gold of the World Championships – the basic receiving the Polish national team.

A blow in Spodek. The Poles lost the final with Italy by third gold in a row

Coach Grbić the first large event of the rank of World Championships, Me or IO, already as a Poles selector, scored a globe championship during the Polish-Slovenian championship. Exactly on September 11, 2022 in the Katowice Spodek, Poles faced the chance to get the third golden World Championships in a row. Which would equalize them with such powers as Italians in the 1990s (Golden World Cup 1990, 1994 and 1998), or Brazil at the beginning of the 21st century (masters from 2002, 2006 and 2010). However, there was no joy at the finish line, and there was sadness – at least temporary – because although Poles started with a winning 25:22, another three quite clearly (21:25, 18:25, 20:25) lost to Italy. A rival led by … EX-selector of Poles, Ferdinando de Giorgi. A man who, although he began his coaching adventure in Poland with very good results in the ranks of Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle, was the work with the Polish national team and the fatal European Championships 2017, they were a shadow on the achievements of “Fefe”.

De Giorgi, therefore, took an extremely well -tasty rematch for Poles, symbolic, but how eloquent, proving his class. In the background, you may wonder what the Polish national team looked like, if not for the murderous semi-final the day before, boasted almost from the throat of Brazil, after a thriller and winning after a tie-break. After 2.5 hours of game, it ended happily for Poland. Although it was a nice beginning. The Italians on Saturday won with Slovenia clearly 3: 0, in less than 1.5 hours. A day later it could have been crucial in a direct fight. And Brazil won the bronze, playing the Slovenes.

The composition of Poles from the final? Bartosz Kurek on the attack, Aleksander Śliwka and Kamil Semeniuk in the role of hosts, Central duo Jakub Kochanowski and Mateusz Bieniek, Marcin Janusz at the play and Paweł Zatorski at the libero. Tomasz Fornal, Grzegorz Łomacz, Bartosz Kwolek and Łukasz Kaczmarek entered.

The composition of Italians? Alessandro Michieletto and Daniele Lavia at a party, Simone Giannelli at the game, Yuri Romano on the attack, Simone Anzani and Gianluca Galassi in the middle (came by Roberto Russo) and Fabio Balaso on the libero.

A great rematch in Rome! Wilfredo Leon Show in an eternal city

Just a year later, volleyball fans could again rub their hands to the final with the participation of Poles and Italians. There was almost 1 to 1 revenge, because the hosts were Italians this time. The decisive phase of the European championships (2023) was played in Rome. This time, however, Poles were the mountain. Italian fans gathered in Palazzo dello Sport could not understand what had just happened. Poland won 3: 0, in sets 25:20, 25:21 and 25:23.

Particularly distinguished is how Poles presented themselves in the service. In total, as many as 11 aces, in a three -hundred meeting, are of great appreciation. Norbert Huber recorded five point licks himself, Wilfredo Leon also added his three. Anyway, there were more websites that make it difficult for Italians than in the statistics of points obtained directly from the service field. That day, Poles were not strong. And the MVP award was then received by Leon, whom the year earlier – during the World Cup – was missing in the ranks of Poles. And who knows, maybe it was one of the factors that did not allow Poland to reach for gold at the time. Then the best player of the tournament was recognized by Captain Italy Giannelli.

How was the composition of Poles in the ME 2023 final? Łukasz Kaczmarek – playing the best season in his career so far – as an attacker. In addition, Wilfredo Leon and Aleksander Śliwka at the party, middle Jakub Kochanowski and Norbert Huber, Marcin Janusz at the play and Paweł Zatorski at Libero. Tomasz Fornal and Kamil Semeniuk appeared on the changes.

On the Italian side, but almost exactly the same output composition, every year earlier in the final in Spodek. With one correction, on the funds of the Roberto Russo grid for Anzani. This time, however, coach de Giorgi did not beat Poland, but got a strict lesson.

“Premature final” in the Philippines. Who is the top in Poland – Italy?

What predictions for Saturday’s match for entering the World Cup final? It seems that two really even bands will face each other. Although in the Polish case, there are many more changes in the finals of 2022 and 2023.

The playmaker Marcin Janusz, to Libero Jakub Popiwczak, in addition, it seems that Kamil Semeniuk will join Wilfredo Leon at the party. For comparison, Italians with their match with Belgians – the quarter -finals of the World Championships 2025 – began with two changes, relative to the final of the European Championships 2023. In the middle of Giovanni Maria Gargiulo and at the party Mattia Bottolo. This second change is also an effect … Daniele Lavia injury, because probably in normal disposal, he would have his place on the pitch.

Paradoxically, however, this does not have to be an advantage on the Italian side, i.e. less corrections in the composition. Which also shows a well -done work by coach Grbic, his staff and finally – the player performers themselves. And on the pitch promises to be a hard, even fight. And it really doesn’t seem that the match would end again in three sets, as in the recent VNL 2025 final in China.