Kamil Semeniuk with a birthday present for fans. Wilfredo Leon Show!

Polish volleyballers in Ergo Arena – this is a really good combination in recent years. There were at least a few opportunities, but the most memorable is the success in the League of Nations in 2023. Since then, however, quite a lot has changed. And this is a mild term.

League of nations: Poland better than Iran. Wilfredo Leon Show!

Aleksander Śliwka said about changes in the context of the Polish national team in an interview for “Wprost”, even in relation to the previous season.

– I think this is a stage of hard work on our volleyball game. The team is different than in the previous year. There are no several players with us, medalists from the Paris Games. The team took on a new shape. Now, compared to the second weekend of VNL, there have been a few new players. That is why this group in Gdańsk has been training with each other for about two weeks. We are constantly trying to find an agreement, find quality and rip everything together, so that in these matches in Ergo Arena looks the best for this stage of our work. However, as the coach said at a press conference, this ultimate goal for this season is the world championships. This is where we are to play the best – said Śliwka.

The successor to the injured Bartosz Kurek as the captain of the national team, however, he watched the match with Iran only as a fan. Plum suffered an unfortunate injury at Tuesday’s training (a few hours after our conversation), so he could “only” be read by the announcer Marek Magiera during the pre -match presentation. Every day, Polsat Sport journalist, well known from volleyball events for over two decades, broke the VNL protocol, but certainly the whole situation was worth it.

Anyway, the plum himself referred to her with emotion.

“I do not hide, I was touched, thank you,” he wrote on Instagram, referring to recording on stories with this unique, pre -match moment.

However, when it came to playing, sentiments and any reduced tariff ended. The Iranians joined the match with Poles on the mousse, having a 4: 4 balance and chances to advance to the final tournament. In addition, Iran had a lesson from a few days ago, when they lost sparring with Poles in Olsztyn (1: 3). All the time, however, he was the runner -up of the VNL table, the host of the tournament, he was a favorite.

Coach Nikola Grbić focused on the following, starting composition: Kamil Semeniuk, Jakub Kochanowski (as a captain), Jakub Nowak, Tomasz Fornal, Jan Firlej, Barłomiej Bołądź and Jakub Popiwczak to the libero. Hardly anyone could expect that during the match the coach of Poles would make many, sometimes even unexpected changes. And tie-break Poles will start with Kewin Sasak on the right wing, Wilfredo Leon in a party (who also played as an attacker) and Marcin a command.

Looking at the match against Iran, the team leader was undoubtedly Kamil Semeniuk. The host, who in the club season reached for winning in the Champions League (in the Atlas Arena in Łódź), from the staff start of the hand, presents a high form. What’s more, Semeniuk celebrated his 29th birthday on the day of the match. As it turned out, the host made a gift to himself, teammates and supporters in the hot Ergo Arena.

The match had many important moments. From the good opening of Poles and the end of the service settled with Semeniuk at the service. By entering high speed in defense of the ash. In addition, huge problems with the effectiveness of attackers, from where coach Grbić tried the solution with Leon in this role. Let’s add, earlier this variant “Emergency” put on the plum in the role of … a deceived attacker.

Finally, a great entrance of Leon, who showed off, among others Three service aces in a row, picking up the game of Poles. For this descent of the Fornal, which the leader Bogdanka Luk Lublin changed the second attempt (after the previous role of the attacker). And he created a duo of hosts with Semeniuk until the end of the meeting.

It is also necessary to give to the Iranians that they showed those advantages that could be expected. At the forefront with a hellishly strong service, breaking the admission zone of Poles. The hosts, however, entered the fifth set perfectly, having 8: 4, which by another point increased Leon (AS at 9: 4 in the service field to a result of 12: 5).

Ergo Arena could be happy at the end. Poles won, but coach Grbić certainly has a lot of questions after this hard clash.

VNL 2025 tournament in Ergo Arena. When and with whom will Polish volleyball players play?

The Polish national team in Ergo Arena will play three more matches. On Thursday, Poland will face Kuba (20:00). Friday is a day break in terms of tournament hosts.

At the weekend, Olympic runners -up will play two matches. On Saturday Poland – Bulgaria (17:00), and on Sunday, to close the tournament in Ergo Arena, a real hit. At 20:30 a kind of rematch for the IO 2024 final, i.e. Poland – France.

All matches of the League of Nations Tournament in the Tri -City Ergo Arena will be shown on Polsat Sport channels. In addition, broadcasts in the internet version can be followed via the Polsat Box Go platform.