Portugal finish EuroVolley campaign with a statement win and a nervous wait. Poland sweep Ukraine and fly to the top of Pool B!

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Portugal finished their CEV Enel EuroVolley Men 2026 Pool B campaign in convincing fashion, producing one of their most complete performances of the tournament to sweep North Macedonia 3–0 (25:13, 25:20, 25:20).
There was little doubt about the better team on the court: Portugal controlled the match from the opening exchanges, combining an efficient attacking game with a strong service and blocking performance while North Macedonia struggled to find consistency in reception and paid the price for too many errors.

The first set was effectively decided early. Portugal moved ahead 6–3 and gradually stretched their advantage, reaching 17–10 and then 18–11 as Bruno Dias distributed the attack with confidence. Portugal’s 75% positive reception provided the perfect platform, allowing them to attack at 52%, more than double North Macedonia’s 25%.
The difference was just as clear at the net. Portugal collected seven kill blocks to North Macedonia’s one and added two aces without conceding one, turning their superiority in the fundamental elements into a comfortable 25–13 finish.
North Macedonia responded with more resistance in the second set.
They took the initiative early and, after Portugal levelled at 5–5, the two teams remained locked in a much tighter battle. North Macedonia moved ahead 18–17 before Portugal regained control at the most important moment. Two consecutive attacks from Lourenço Martins helped swing the momentum, and Portugal eventually closed the set 25–20.
The third set followed a similar pattern. North Macedonia started brightly, leading 2–0 and 4–1, but Portugal remained patient and gradually turned the momentum around. Their ability to win the longer rallies and execute the decisive points allowed them to pull away late and complete the straight-sets victory.
The final statistics underline just how comprehensive Portugal’s performance was. They finished with a 51% attacking efficiency against 32% for North Macedonia and dominated positive reception 66% to 44%. Portugal also held the edge in blocking, 11–7, and aces, 3–0.

Alexandre Ferreira led the way for Portugal with 17 points to his name including an ace and 57% in attack, while for North Macedonia, Stojan Iliev and Aleksandar Ljaftov left the court with eight points each.

For Portugal, however, the victory does not immediately bring an answer to the most important question: their EuroVolley campaign is now over, but qualification for the knockout stage remains out of their hands, as their fate depends on the final Pool B encounter between North Macedonia and Israel. A North Macedonian victory would keep Portugal’s hopes alive, leaving the Portuguese players to watch the decisive match from the sidelines.

For Manuel Figueiredo, it has already been a memorable first senior EuroVolley: “It was my first EuroVolley as a senior, and I appreciated our performance. I wished we had won against Israel. Now, we need to wait for North Macedonia to beat Israel. So we are waiting for that game to see if we can go through.”

North Macedonia, meanwhile, leave the court knowing exactly what went wrong. Their reception difficulties once again proved costly against a Portugal side that was able to exploit every weakness: “Portugal played smarter than us. They didn’t make as many mistakes. We were struggling throughout the whole tournament with our reception. And they also found this weak spot,” said Gjorgi Gjorgiev.

Portugal have done their part. They finished their campaign with a performance that leaves no doubt about their quality.
Now comes the hardest part: waiting.

MORE TO FOLLOW

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🏐| CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 | Tuesday, September 15, 2026

POOL A📍PalaPanini Modena
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Greece – Sweden
• 21.05 (Local Time) | Czech Republic – Italy

🏐| POOL A STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Italy 9
2. Czech Republic 8
3. Slovenia 6
4. Greece 3
5. Sweden 1
6. Slovakia 0

👉🏼POOL B📍Arena 8888 Sofia
• 16.00 (Local Time) | North Macedonia – Portugal 0-3 (13:25, 20:25, 20:25)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 19.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Ukraine 3-0 (25:20, 25:13, 25:22)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH

🏐| POOL B STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Poland 12
2. Ukraine 12
3. Bulgaria 9
4. Portugal 4
5. Israel 2
6. North Macedonia 0

POOL C📍Nokia Arena Tampere
• 17.00 (Local Time) | Belgium – Denmark
• 20.00 (Local Time) | The Netherlands – Finland

🏐| POOL C STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Finland 8
2. Belgium 7
3. Denmark 6
4. Serbia 5
5. Netherlands 0
6. Estonia 0

POOL D📍 BT Arena Cluj Napoca
• 17.00 (Local Time) | Latvia – Switzerland
• 20.00 (Local Time) | France – Germany

🏐| POOL D STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Germany 11
2. France 9
3. Romania 7
4. Latvia 3
5. Türkiye 3
6. Switzerland 0

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NEXT GAMES: Wednesday, September 16, 2026

POOL A📍PalaPanini Modena
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Sweden – Slovakia
• 21.00 (Local Time) | Czech Republic – Slovenia
POOL B📍Arena 8888 Sofia
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Israel – North Macedonia
• 19.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Bulgaria
POOL C📍Nokia Arena Tampere
• 17.00 (Local Time) | Denmark – Serbia
• 20.00 (Local Time) | The Netherlands – Estonia
POOL D📍 BT Arena Cluj Napoca
• 17.00 (Local Time) | Türkiye – Latvia
• 20.00 (Local Time) | France – Romania

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