Poles showed the Germans their place in line. The European champions are on a roll!

The Germans entered the match against the Poles after the huge sensation they caused in the rivalry with the Bulgarians. One of the hosts of the European Championship 2026 unexpectedly lost 2:3 to the German team, although they were already leading 2:0 in sets in Sofia.

However, volleyball is a game that does not forgive mistakes. The runners-up of the world (2025) could not withstand the pressure of expectations and did not manage to close the match, which the team led by Massimo Botti took advantage of. An experienced Italian trainer well known for his work in the Polish league.

Poland is better than Germany. The European champions are already in the semi-finals!

Coach Nikola Grbic, in his own style, warned against underestimating the German team. If the Germans were able to defeat the Bulgarians, they achieved a feat that the Poles failed to achieve at the group stage. At that time, however, the situation for the European champions was favorable because even before the start of the match, the Polish team was sure of advancing from first place to the knockout phase. For the Bulgarians, that success, as a whole, meant nothing.

Tuesday’s (i.e. September 22) quarterfinal? In fact, with the greatest emotions in the first part of… the third set. The Germans managed to pull away from the Poles by a few points, although this situation did not last very long. In the premiere, the result was 25:23, but it was hard not to get the impression that Grbic’s team controlled events on the pitch almost from A to Z.

Second batch? Knockout and the result was 25:17. Exactly the same as in the third set, where it ended with 25:17 – although the Germans were leading several minutes earlier… 16:15 in the game.

Wilfredo Leon scored the most points for Poland – 17. The second in this respect was Bartłomiej Bołądź – 13.

Poland will face the winner of the Belgium-Slovenia quarterfinal in the semi-final. This meeting will take place on Wednesday (i.e. September 23). Either way, the competition moves to the Italian Peninsula. More specifically, to Milan, where all matches for medals in the European Championship 2026 will be played.

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

The Polish national volleyball team has won gold medals in the European Championships twice in its history. Poles won in 2009 and 2023. Historically, Poland won its first title in Turkey, and Piotr Gruszka was honored with the MVP award.

The last tournament, the 33rd edition in the history of the Men’s Volleyball Championship, was held in four countries: North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Israel and Italy. Ultimately, in the final battle in Rome, the Poles defeated the Italians 3-0. The MVP award went to Wilfredo Leon.

Looking at the entire history of the Men’s Volleyball Championships, Poland won a total of 11 medals. This is the third best result in terms of the number of Old Continent championship medals won by Polish representatives. There are two gold medals (2009, 2023), and five silver medals in a row (1975, 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1983). What is even more interesting, at that time only the USSR volleyball players won the championship titles. In the years 1967-91, the Soviet Union national team won 10 titles out of 11 editions of the European Championship.

Poland won four bronze medals at the European Championships, in the editions of 1967 (the first medal for volleyball players in the history of the European Championships) and more recently – 2011, 2019 and 2021.

Matches of the European Men’s Volleyball Championship 2026 are shown on Polsat open channels (meetings of the Polish national team) and Polsat Sport. However, you can use the Polsat Box Go platform online.