France sweep Portugal and marches into EuroVolley 2026 quarterfinals!
4 min read
If you wish to publish an Italian translation of this article, any of our other articles, or ANY PART OF THEM, please cite the original source. PLAGIARISM IS ILLEGAL!
France books its spot in the Top 8 after sweeping Portugal in straight sets in the Round of 16 to advance to CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 Quarterfinals: 25:21, 25:22, 25:22, maintaining control throughout the match and punishing their opponents’ errors.
The reigning Olympic champions established their authority through consistent attacking pressure and disciplined play, securing a straight-sets win despite Portugal’s strength at the net.
France took command early in the opening set, moving ahead 4–2 through a block as Portugal suffered three consecutive service errors.
The French side extended their lead to 9–6 and then 12–7, forcing Portugal to chase the game. Alexandre Ferreira’s ace helped spark a late response, reducing the deficit to 23–19, while Lourenço Martins brought Portugal to 21–24. France nevertheless remained composed to close the set 25–21.
The statistical picture underlined France’s attacking efficiency, with the French side recording a remarkable 71% execution rate compared with Portugal’s just 45%. Portugal held the advantage in both blocking, with three kill blocks to France’s none, and positive reception, finishing at 67%.
The second set remained close in the early stages, with the teams level at 3–3. France then found greater rhythm through their wing attacks and won two extended rallies to move ahead 8–5. Effective work from the middle allowed them to maintain their advantage at 12–8 and 16–12, while Portugal continued to give away points from the service line.
Ferreira and Martins led Portugal’s late attempt to close the gap, bringing their team within 20–22. Trévor Clévenot responded with an important kill, but a French unforced error reduced the margin to one point at 23–22. François Huetz then delivered a decisive middle attack to put France at set point, and the French side completed the set 25–22 to take a 2–0 lead.
Portugal opened the third set with renewed determination, taking a 4–2 lead. France quickly recovered to level at 7–7 and then move ahead 8–7, benefiting from continued Portuguese service errors. A powerful block from Ferreira briefly restored Portugal’s advantage at 10–9, but Clévenot responded with a clever tip to secure a break point and put France 13–11 ahead.
Portugal continued to fight, with Martins producing an accurate pass to bring his team within two points at 12–14. Later, Kelton Tavares’ service ace reduced the gap to 19–21, giving Portugal a final opportunity to challenge the French side. France, however, held their composure through the closing exchanges to seal the set 25–21 and complete the sweep.
Across the match, France maintained their attacking superiority, finishing with 57% execution compared with Portugal’s 46%.
Portugal dominated the blocking statistics with six kill blocks to France’s two, while also holding a slight advantage in positive reception, 60% to 57%.
Both teams recorded two aces, but Portugal’s 28 unforced errors compared with France’s 19 proved costly.
Alexandre Ferreira and Lourenço Martins were Portugal’s leading scorers, finishing with 13 points apiece.
For the winners, Mathis Henno and Clévenot each recorded 12 points.
“I don’t feel extra pressure because we are the reigning Olympic Champions. It is a brand new team with new players. Today, we put pressure from the beginning, and it was hard for them to manage that. We controlled them pretty well,” French setter Antoine Brizard said after the match.
In quarterfinals, France will face Romania, who earlier today stuns Ukraine celebrating also a straight sets win.
__________________
🏐| CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 | ROUND OF 16
Saturday September 19, 2026
📍Arena 8888 Sofia
•16.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Latvia 3-0 (25:17, 25:16, 25:16)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 19.00 (Local Time) | Germany – Bulgaria 3-2 (21:25, 21:25, 25:19, 25:23, 15:12)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
Sunday September 20, 2026
📍Palavela Torino
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Finland – Greece 3-2 (22:25, 25:16, 22:25, 25:23, 15:13)
• 21.05 (Local Time) | Italy – Denmark 3–0 (25:22, 25:16, 25:11)
📍Arena 8888 Sofia
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Ukraine – Romania 0-3 (22:25, 21:25, 28:30)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
👉🏼 19.00 (Local Time) | France – Portugal 3-0 (25:21, 25:22, 25:21)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
Monday September 21, 2026
📍Palavela Torino
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Belgium – Czech Republic 3-1 (20:25, 26:24, 25:14, 25:15)
• 21.00 (Local Time) | Slovenia – Serbia 3-0 (25:14, 25:13, 25:22)
__________________
👀|QUICK LINKS
• EuroVolley 2026 – Calendar
• EuroVolley 2026 – All News
• All International news 🗞️
• Multimedia
• Facebook
• Instagram
__________________
