Ukraine complete their EuroVolley squad as Sofia prepares for a decisive Pool B battle

Ukraine have finalized their squad for the 2026 Men’s European Championship, completing the picture of a Pool B that promises to be one of the most intriguing pools of the tournament.

Head coach Raúl Lozano will take 14 players to Sofia, where Ukraine will face hosts Bulgaria, defending champions Poland, Portugal, Israel and North Macedonia. The final roster was selected from an extended group of 18, with four players missing out at the last stage: setter Vitaliy Shchitkov, opposite Oleksandr Boyko, middle blocker Andriy Chelenyak and outside hitter Oleksandr Nalozhnyi.

There is, however, an interesting twist involving the name Boyko. The final squad also contains an Oleksandr Boyko, but he is a libero rather than an opposite. He recovered from a knee injury during the preparation period and eventually replaced his younger brother Yevhen in Lozano’s group.

Ukraine’s 14-man roster is:
Setters: Yurii Synytsia, Serhii Yevstratov
Opposites: Vasyl Tupchii, Maksym Tonkonoh
Outside hitters: Oleh Plotnytskyi, Dmytro Yanchuk, Yevhen Kisiliuk, Tymofii Poluian
Middle blockers: Yurii Semeniuk, Vladyslav Shchurov, Maksym Drozd, Denys Veletskyi
Liberos: Yaroslav Pampushko, Oleksandr Boyko

One of the most significant absences is Illia Kovalov. The outside hitter, who played an important role in Ukraine’s run to the quarter-finals of the 2023 European Championship, will miss this edition because of health problems.
There is also encouraging news for Lozano in the form of Tymofii Poluian. When the extended roster was announced in August, the outside hitter was still recovering from hand surgery and working individually. His recovery has progressed sufficiently for him to make the final squad, giving Ukraine another option on the wing.

The Ukrainians completed their preparation with three matches in Estonia, winning twice before suffering a dramatic defeat in their final test. Estonia prevailed 3-2 after an extraordinary finish, 20:25, 20:25, 37:35, 27:25, 15:13, leaving Lozano with a final competitive test that demanded five sets and more than two hours of volleyball.

Now the real challenge begins.

Ukraine will open their EuroVolley campaign on September 10 against Israel at Arena 8888 Sofia, before facing North Macedonia the following afternoon. Their third match will be one of the most important of the group stage: Bulgaria await on September 12 at 19:00, with the hosts entering the tournament as one of the leading contenders in Sofia.

After a rest day, Ukraine will return to the court against Portugal on September 14 before closing their group campaign against Poland on September 15.

That final match could be particularly significant. Poland, the reigning European champions, have also arrived in Sofia with ambitions of defending their crown, and their decision to travel with 15 players rather than immediately reduce the group to the official 14-man roster has kept the spotlight on Nikola Grbić’s selection. The two teams will meet on September 15 at 19:00, in what could be a crucial battle for the final Group B positions.
The Polish and Ukrainian campaigns are therefore intertwined from the very beginning. Ukraine open against Israel, while Poland start against Portugal, but by the final two days the picture could become considerably more complicated, with Ukraine facing the European champions before Poland meet hosts Bulgaria on September 16.
The other two teams in the pool will also have a decisive role to play. Israel and North Macedonia are the two sides that bookend the group-stage schedule: Israel face Ukraine in the opening match for both teams on September 10, while their final encounter against North Macedonia comes on September 16, just three hours before Poland and Bulgaria bring the group stage to a spectacular conclusion.

With six teams competing for four places in the knockout phase, every point could become crucial. Bulgaria, Poland and Ukraine currently occupy the highest positions in the world ranking among the six teams — Bulgaria ninth, Ukraine 11th and Poland first — while Israel and North Macedonia enter the tournament ranked 30th and 55th respectively.
Sofia, therefore, is not simply the setting for Group B. It is where the entire pool will be decided, with 15 matches compressed into eight days and four teams eventually progressing to the knockout stage.
For Ukraine, the route is now clear: Israel, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Portugal and finally Poland. And with the European champions waiting on the final day, Lozano’s team may need to remain in contention until the very last point.

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