France sweep Slovenia to stay perfect at 2026 Wagner Memorial

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France continued its perfect start to the 2026 Hubert Jerzy Wagner Memorial on Saturday, defeating Slovenia 3–1 (16:25, 25:21, 25:15, 25:21) at the Tauron Arena in Kraków.
After opening the tournament with a 3–0 victory over the United States on Friday, the Olympic champions once again showed their ability to control a match after a difficult start, recovering from a first-set loss to take the next three sets in convincing fashion.

Slovenia made the stronger start and immediately put France under pressure. Fabio Soli’s team built an early advantage and maintained control throughout the opening set, eventually taking it 25–16. France, however, responded immediately in the second set. The French side gradually took control of the game and levelled the match at 25–21.
From that point on, France raised the intensity. The third set was largely one-sided, with Giani’s team pulling away to a 25–15 victory, before completing the comeback with another 25–21 win in the fourth set.

Stephen Boyer was France’s leading scorer with 21 points through 58% in attack and 3 blocks, producing one of his most important offensive contributions of the tournament so far. Antoine Pothron added 12 points, while Moussé Gueye finished with 10 and Simon Magnin contributed 6. France’s attack proved particularly effective in the final three sets, allowing the Olympic champions to turn the match around after their slow opening.
For Slovenia, Rok Bračko led the scoring with 18 points, while Sašo Štalekar and the rest of Soli’s rotation struggled to maintain the offensive consistency that had helped Slovenia push Poland to five sets on the opening day.

The statistics underline France’s superiority. The French team scored 58 points, compared with Slovenia’s 55, while also making the difference in the most important moments. France produced 44 successful attacks, compared with 43 for Slovenia, and finished with 25 break points against Slovenia’s 22. The French also committed fewer errors overall, with 18 serving errors compared with 19 for their opponents.
The major difference, however, was in blocking, with the winners who recorded 12 points from this element compared to Slovenia’s 4.

The result is particularly significant considering Slovenia’s opening performance in Kraków. On Friday, Soli’s team had pushed hosts Poland all the way to a tie-break before losing 3–2 (26:24, 21:25, 25:19, 23:25, 15:11), with Nik Mujanović, today on the bench, scoring 24 points.
For France, meanwhile, this is another encouraging step just two weeks before EuroVolley 2026.
Giani’s team had already impressed against the United States in its opening match, winning 3–0 after taking a tense first set 28–26.

The Wagner Memorial is being used by all four teams as one of their final major tests before the European Championship. France will face Poland on Sunday in the final match of the tournament, while Slovenia will close its campaign against the United States.
With two victories from two matches, France now has four points and remains unbeaten in Kraków. Slovenia, meanwhile, has one point from its two matches after suffering consecutive defeats, although both performances have provided valuable preparation ahead of EuroVolley.
For France, the message from Kraków is becoming increasingly clear: the Olympic champions may still be fine-tuning their game, but they are already finding ways to win.

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Today’s Results | Saturday August 29, 2026

• 14.00 (Local Time) | France – Slovenia 3-1 (16:25, 25:21, 25:15, 25:21)
Slovenia: Bracko (18), Planisic (1), Pajenk (8), Marovt (13), Krzic (5), Sen (9), Okroglic (libero), Najdić (1).
France: Boyer (21), Tizi-Oualou (1), Gueye (10), Duflos Rossi (8), Pothron (12), Ramon (libero), Magnin (6).

• 17.00 (Local Time) | Poland – USA 3-1 (22:25, 25:15, 25:20, 25:22)
Poland: Sasak (12), Firlej (3), Majchrzak (13), Jakubiszak (6), Leon (9), Śliwka (11), Granieczny (libero), Bołądź (3), Komenda, Semeniuk (1), Szalpuk.
USA: Hanes (11), Ma’a (2), Jendryk (7), McHenry (6), Robinson (12), Russell (20), Briggs (libero), Garcia, Hartke (6), Rowan.

FULL 2026 PROGRAM HERE

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