Bulgaria cancel final Serbia friendlies after virus hits national team

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The Bulgarian men’s national team will enter the final days before EuroVolley 2026 without the two matches that were supposed to provide its last competitive test before the European Championship.
The scheduled friendlies against Serbia, originally set for September 1 and 2 at Arena 8888 Sofia, have been cancelled after a virus reportedly affected the Bulgarian squad.
The information was confirmed on Monday by the Volleyball Federation of Serbia (OSS), which said it had been informed by its Bulgarian counterpart that the matches could not go ahead.

According to the Serbian federation, four players from Bulgaria’s starting lineup had fallen ill. With the European Championship only days away, the Bulgarian side apparently decided that there was no reason to take unnecessary risks, particularly with the team preparing to play its EuroVolley pool matches on home soil.
The reason for the cancellation had not initially been disclosed.
When the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation announced on August 29 that the two matches would not take place, it simply stated that the team would continue its preparation in Sofia. The subsequent explanation from Serbia therefore provides the first public indication of what had happened.

The cancellation is a particularly significant setback to Bulgaria’s preparation because these matches were intended to be the team’s final two tests before the European Championship. The Bulgarian squad had previously been working in Samokov, where it played preparation matches against the Czech Republic, before moving to Sofia for the final phase of its training camp.
For Serbia, the consequences are different but equally inconvenient. The two games in Sofia were scheduled as the national team’s final preparation matches before EuroVolley.
Serbia had already planned two closed-door matches against Slovenia in Belgrade on August 19 and 20, meaning the cancelled meetings with Bulgaria would have been its last opportunity to test itself before the tournament.
Serbia will now have to approach the European Championship without those final two competitive rehearsals. The team coached by George Cretu will play in Pool C in Tampere, alongside Finland, Estonia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.
Its EuroVolley campaign will begin on September 11 against Estonia.

For Bulgaria, the timing makes the situation particularly delicate.
The country is not simply another participant in this edition of the European Championship: it is one of the host nations and will stage Pool B in Sofia. The venue was moved from Varna to the Bulgarian capital following the extraordinary momentum generated by the national team’s run to the 2025 World Championship final, with the Arena 8888 Sofia chosen to give the team the opportunity to play the tournament in front of a huge home crowd.
Bulgaria’s Pool B campaign will begin on September 9 and will feature Poland, Ukraine, Portugal, Israel and North Macedonia.
That makes the decision to avoid any unnecessary exposure immediately before the tournament understandable, especially with several regular starters reportedly affected.
There is, however, an important distinction to make.
The information about the virus and the four affected starters comes from the Serbian federation’s statement.
The Bulgarian federation has so far not publicly provided further medical details about the players involved, and there is no official indication that the illness represents anything more serious than a temporary health issue.
What was supposed to be Bulgaria’s final dress rehearsal before EuroVolley has therefore disappeared from the calendar.
Instead of two final matches against Serbia, Gianlorenzo Blengini’s team will now have to complete its preparation on the training court — and hope that the health issue is resolved before the opening whistle of a European Championship that will put the young Bulgarian side under an enormous home spotlight.

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