Tomasz Fornal was a big hit with the fans. They won’t forgive this Pole!

There are actually two scenarios. Thanks to the victory over Ukraine (3-0) and adding the previous three victories against: Portugal (3-0), Israel (3-0) and North Macedonia (3-0), the Poles secured promotion to the 1/8 finals of the event. Moreover, it is already certain that Poland will be the leader of Group B, so in the knockout phase they will face the fourth team from Group D.

And before the last matches of the group stage, it is known that it may be Türkiye or Latvia. A more likely scenario is competition with the Turks.

Tomasz Fornal versus Turkish fans. Will it be hot during the Polish match?

The Turks and Latvians will play each other for fourth place in group D. Turkey will be the favorite, although coach Slobodan Kovac’s team will certainly be disappointing during the European Championship 2026. The Turkish team made it very difficult to place them in the next games with a 1-3 defeat against the Romanians. However, the host of Group D showed that the Turkish team has something to work on.

Assuming Turkey wins over Latvia, there may be an interesting clash in the 1/8 finals in the context of Tomasz Fornal. The leader of the Polish national team is famous for not biting his tongue. This was also the case when he played in the Turkish league. The volleyball player was a major hit with the fans. Why?

– I know that Turkish fans don’t like me. Because I criticized their league. They asked which league was better. Polish or Turkish? I said Poland and they said I didn’t respect them (…) If someone asks me a simple question which league is better, at least I have such character and I’m a player who won’t lie and say: I don’t know, it’s the same. Poland and Italy are at the top, then maybe Japanese and more. You have to realize that Polish and Italian are the two best leagues in the world. I won’t spin, that’s the truth. They don’t like me, but that’s hard, that’s life – said the Polish representative in a conversation with Grzegorz Krychowiak, later quoted, among others, on the website of Onet and “Przegląd Sportowy”.

Grooming is also a frequently discussed topic on social media. If Poles play against Turks in the 1/8 finals of the European Championship, it will probably be an additional flavor of the competition.

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? Today, September 16 at 6:00 p.m. The rivals will be the hosts of the group games in Sofia, the Bulgarians. That is, the current runners-up of the world (2025).

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