Czech Republic win CEV U22 Volleyball European Championship 2026, historical Bronze for Israel

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The CEV U22 Volleyball European Championship 2026 concluded yesterday at the Municipal Pavilion of Albufeira, European City of Sport 2026, won by Czech Republic after a 3-1 (25:27, 27:25, 25:20, 25:13) win over Poland, while Israel secured an impressive, first-ever medal for their contry, a bronze after a straight sets win (25:21, 25:23, 25:18) over defending champions France.

Czech Republic had previously claimed a continental title in age-group competitions only twice, in 2000 (in the U19 women’s division) and in 2017 with their U19 men’s national team.
In a thrilling gold medal match, having suffered a 2-3 defeat to defending champions France in the pool stage, they recorded two impressive performances in the decisive games of the tournament, claiming an epic comeback in semifinal against Israel, 3-2 (21:25, 40:42, 25:20, 25:23, 15:9) before the decisive success against Poland.
Poland’s Wojciech Gajek led all scorers in the match with 25 points all in attack, through 61%, closely followed by Czech Republic Matej Pastrnak with 24, 74% in attack, 2 aces and 2 blocks. Vaclav Seidl added 20 for the winners.

“It was another very, very difficult match. I feel immense pride in these players. This is a team that showed, once again, that it never gives up. So, hats off to my players; they were incredible, with no exceptions. The reward for that is the fact that they are the champions of Europe. It’s hard to say anything more than that. Thank you to all the staff, co-workers, and these fans who never abandon us. We are happy, and now we are going to celebrate,” said Czech Republic’s head coach Michal Nekola after the match.

Piotr Graban, Poland head coach: “We were not surprised; we knew they are an incredible team and that we can only defeat them when we are at our best level. Unfortunately, today we could not reach that level, probably because yesterday we gave everything against France; we gave 100%, and maybe we lacked experience, or maybe just luck, because the first three sets were very close, and then something broke. We have to congratulate and thank my players for their dedication. It was a very long week. We did not start well; we fought for gold, and this group, which worked for two years to be here, achieved the silver medal, which is incredible and the most important thing.”

Meanwhile, an excellent Israel secured a historic bronze medal, first-ever podium finish for the country, writing its own piece of history after an amazing game against the defending champions France won in straight sets.
Mark Rura with 21 points through 73% in attack and 2 aces led the charge, well supported by Shay Liberman who added 14 points, already great protagonist of the previous game including the semifinal, in which he recorded as many as 34 points!
They completely neutralized the French offense, with Noa Duflos-Rossi top scorer with 13 points in a desperate effort.

Noam Katz, Israel head coach: “We are very happy. This is the first medal in Israel’s history. We were happy just to qualify for the final stage of the European Championship, as it was the first time we managed to do so after years of absence. And now we have won the bronze medal. Obviously, we were a bit disappointed with what happened yesterday. We still think we had a team that could fight for first place. But finishing the championship ahead of France, Italy, and Bulgaria (all Volleyball powerhouses) is an incredible feeling for Israel, especially in a tournament of such a high level. These are the eight best teams in Europe. And we are happy to have this generation, which can compete with these teams and win. And to beat France, the defending European champions. This is incredible for Israeli Volleyball.”

Slimane Belmadi, France head coach: “It is essential to come into the competition with the will to fight because it is not enough to hope that the opponent makes things easy. This group needs to show a mental and collective effort far superior to what has been shown up to this point. Despite some extenuating circumstances, mental determination and collective commitment are crucial to overcoming challenges and achieving important goals.”

🏐| Dream Team:
• Best Setter: Blazej Bien (Poland)
• Best Outside Spiker: Shay Mayo Liberman (Israel)
• Best Outside Spiker: Matej Pastrnak (Czechia)
• Best Middle Blocker: Antonin Klimes (Czech Republic)
• Best Middle Blocker: Stepan Svoboda (Czech Republic)
• Best Libero: João Salgueiro (Portugal)
• Best Opposite: Wojciech Gajek (Poland)
• MVP (Most Valuable Player): Vaclav Seidl (Czech Republic)