Poland will play against Israel at the European Championships. A high-risk match?

The first match at the European Championship 2026 went as expected for the Polish national team. The volleyball players dealt with their rival very confidently, the Portuguese team was only a background for the well-organized Polish team. Ultimately, it ended with a 3-0 win and, in addition, the opportunity for all representatives to appear on the pitch under the baton of coach Nikola Grbic.

Poland – Israel at the Men’s Volleyball Championship. This rival arouses great emotions

Relatively recently, there was information about Russia’s return to international sports competition. In this particular case, the matter concerned traffic from the FIVB, the world federation. The reaction from the Polish side was clear.

However, the position of the sports world towards Israel is ambiguous. It is no secret that in the area of ​​the so-called The Gaza Strip is at war. Not only is Israel fighting Hamas, but it is also involved in military operations in Lebanon and Iran. Each of these stories triggers a huge humanitarian and geopolitical crisis.

Yet Israel continues to function in international sports competitions as if nothing had ever happened. For this reason, the country’s volleyball players are playing at the European Championship 2026, and on Saturday (September 12) they will face Poland.

– This is probably a better team than Portugal. In our opinion, this is the best team of the three we face at the beginning of the event – admitted Grbic’s assistant coach, Marcin Nowakowski.

It is difficult to suspect that there will be any unrest in the stands, especially during the volleyball competition. The facts are, however, that the non-sports situation involving Israel is at least controversial and may cause additional emotions.

ME 2026: The Polish national team defends the title. Where and when to watch Polish matches?

It is worth recalling that Poland has won gold in the European Men’s Volleyball Championship twice in its history. Interestingly, in both cases we are talking about successes achieved in the 21st century. Poles won their first title in 2009. The second one, relatively recently, in the previous edition of the Old Continent championship, i.e. AD 2023 – in the final, defeating the Italians in three sets.

When will Polish volleyball players play the next matches of the European Championship 2026?

• Saturday (12/09), 3:00 p.m., Poland – Israel

• Sunday (13/09), 6:00 p.m., Poland – Macedonia

• Tuesday (15/09), 6:00 p.m., Poland – Ukraine

• Wednesday (16/09), 6:00 p.m., Bulgaria – Poland

The best four teams from each group at the tournament will advance to the 1/8 finals. Poles play their matches in Bulgaria, more specifically in Sofia. A sports hall of particular importance for Polish volleyball. In 2012, Poland won the World League finals in Sofia – in exactly the same facility.

Matches of the Men’s European Volleyball Championship are shown on Polsat open air (Poland’s match) and Polsat Sport. On the Internet, you can use the Polsat Box Go platform.