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The reigning Olympic champions are officially the first team to claim a ticket for the Semifinals! France delivered a commanding performance, defeating Romania in a clean straight-sets sweep in the Quarterfinals of the Men’s European Volleyball Championships: 25:16, 25:19, 25:19, securing a back-to-back Final Four appearance and keeps their European championship dreams alive.
France became the first team to book a place in the EuroVolley 2026 semifinals, producing a controlled straight sets win in Sofia.
The result also settled an uncomfortable chapter from the pool stage, when Romania came back from two sets down to beat the Olympic champions 3–2 in Cluj-Napoca.
Andrea Giani’s side had every reason to remember that match. France had led 2–0 after winning the opening two sets 25–16 and 27–25, only for Romania to overturn the deficit and eventually win 35–33 in a remarkable fourth set before taking the decider 15–12.
This time there was no repeat of the collapse, and France maintained control from the first rally and never allowed Romania to turn the quarter-final into another long battle.
The first set immediately established the pattern. France built an early advantage and kept Romania at a comfortable distance before closing it 25–16.
Romania, fresh from eliminating Ukraine in the round of 16, attempted to stay closer in the second, but France remained in control throughout the crucial exchanges and doubled its advantage at 25–19.
At 2–0, the Olympic champions had the match exactly where they wanted it. Instead of allowing Romania to build momentum, as had happened in their previous meeting, France continued to apply pressure and gradually pulled away in the third set. The 25–18 finish completed the sweep after just three sets.
Théo Faure was France’s leading scorer with 19 points through an impressive 75%
in attack and 1 ace, while François Huetz contributed 11 from the middle, 71% in attack and as many as 6 winning blocks of France’s 10. Mathis Henno finished with nine points and Simon Manin added seven, reflecting the balanced offensive distribution that made it difficult for Romania to establish a consistent response. Cristian-Daniel Chițigoi was Romania’s top scorer with 11 points.
That distribution was one of France’s most important strengths on the night. Rather than relying on a single attacking outlet, coach Andrea Giani was able to get production from several players, while Romania never found the offensive reference point needed to put sustained pressure on the French defence.
For Romania, the defeat brings an end to a campaign that had already exceeded expectations after their dramatic five-set victory over Ukraine in the round of 16.
For France, meanwhile, the objective has now shifted decisively towards the medals.
“We are really happy with the way we handled the pool phase. Today, our focus was on point. We started with a lot of intensity in the serve and we pushed them a lot. This helped us to keep them under pressure. Now, we are looking toward the semifinals. We feel prepared for the next challenge,” said opposite Théo Faure after the game.
“For a team like Romania, we had a really good tournament at this EuroVolley. We showed character, and I want to congratulate my teammates, my staff, and everybody – every supporter – for being present at this wonderful tournament,” added Alexandru Rață.
The victory sends Les Bleus to Milan for the final four, where the semifinals and medal matches will be played.
Their opponent will be the winner of the quarter-final between Italy and Finland, meaning a meeting with the hosts remains a possibility.
France can therefore leave Sofia knowing that the difficult lesson from Cluj has been absorbed.
Romania had beaten them once already at this EuroVolley.
When the stakes were highest, France made sure there would be no second surprise.
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🏐| CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 | QUARTERFINALS
Tuesday September 22, 2026
📍Arena 8888 Sofia
👉🏼 16.00 (Local Time) | France – Romania 3-0 (25:16, 25:19, 25:19)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 19.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Germany 3-0 (25:23, 25:17, 25:17)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
Wednesday September 23, 2026
📍Palavela Torino
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Belgium – Slovenia 1-3 (22:25, 22:25, 25:20, 13:25)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 21.05 (Local Time) | Italy – Finland 2-3 (25:21, 26:28, 16:25, 25:20, 13:25)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
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