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There is something increasingly familiar about the road to the EuroVolley final.
For the fourth consecutive edition, Slovenia and Poland have reached the Semi Finals, and for the fourth time in a row they will face each other for a place in the Gold Medal match.
The first serve is scheduled for 17:00, opening another chapter in one of the most frequently repeated Semi Final fixtures in European Championship history.
Poland–Slovenia has now occurred four times at this stage, matching Italy–Serbia and Russia–Serbia, with the historical records including the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Serbia & Montenegro.
The recent history between the two teams is remarkably balanced at EuroVolley, although the last word in a knockout match has repeatedly belonged to Poland. Slovenia won 3-1 in the 2019 Semi Final in Ljubljana and again by the same score in the 2021 Semi Final in Katowice. Poland returned the favour in 2023, winning 3-1 in Rome.
Overall, this will be the seventh EuroVolley meeting between the teams. Slovenia have won four and Poland two, with Poland winning the first encounter in 2015 and the most recent one in 2023.
And there has been plenty of volleyball between them outside the European Championship.
At the 2026 Volleyball Nations League, Slovenia won a remarkable five-set league-phase encounter in Linyi on 11 June, 3-2 (27:25, 23:25, 26:24, 21:25, 19:17).
The match lasted 139 minutes and Nik Mujanovic produced 37 points for Slovenia. Poland’s leading scorers were Bartosz Firszt and Bartosz Gomulka with 19 each, followed by Szymon Jakubiszak with 18; of those three, only Jakubiszak is part of Poland’s 2026 EuroVolley squad.
Two months later, the balance shifted dramatically.
Poland defeated Slovenia 3-0 in only 68 minutes in the VNL Semi Finals in Ningbo on 1 August. Wilfredo Leon scored 17 points and Bartlomiej Boladz 16, while Alen Pajenk led Slovenia with 11 points.
The teams also met at the Hubert Wagner Memorial on 28 August, where Poland won 3-2.
The recent knockout record makes Poland’s advantage even clearer.
They have won five of their last six competitive knockout matches against Slovenia, including each of the last four: the 2023 EuroVolley Semi Final, the 2024 VNL Bronze Medal match, the 2024 Olympic Quarter Final and the 2026 VNL Semi Final. Slovenia’s most recent knockout victory over Poland came in the 2021 EuroVolley Semi Final.
For Slovenia, however, reaching this stage has become almost routine.
Their 3-1 Quarter Final victory over Belgium took them to their fifth EuroVolley Semi Final, following appearances in 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023 and now 2026. They are chasing a fourth Gold Medal match after reaching the final in 2015, 2019 and 2021. The 2023 edition ended differently, with Poland beating them 3-1 in Rome.
Slovenia have also finished on the podium at four of the last five EuroVolley tournaments: silver in 2015, 2019 and 2021, followed by bronze in 2023. In fact, they are the only team to have collected four podium finishes since the start of EuroVolley 2015.
Together with Poland, they are also the only teams to have stood on the podium at each of the last three editions. Slovenia’s sequence is silver-silver-bronze, while Poland’s is bronze-bronze-gold.
There is one record Slovenia would certainly like to change.
They have lost all three of their EuroVolley finals.
Italy, France and Russia, including the Soviet Union, have also lost at least three Gold Medal matches, but each of those nations has also won at least one final.
This year Slovenia have a 5-2 record at EuroVolley. The last time they suffered three defeats in a single edition was in 2019, when they still went on to take silver with a 6-3 record.
Nik Mujanovic is currently their leading scorer in 2026 with 119 points.
Rok Mozic, meanwhile, was the leading scorer for Slovenia at the 2023 EuroVolley with 152 points, including 132 spikes, while Klemen Cebulj finished that tournament with 129.
The 2023 overall scoring chart was led by the Netherlands’ Nimir Abdel-Aziz with 134 points.
Jan Kozamernik has already produced 23 kill blocks in this year’s tournament, the highest total by a Slovenian player at a single EuroVolley since 2011.
The record for the period belongs to Poland’s Piotr Nowakowski, who recorded 32 in 2021.
Another milestone is waiting for Cebulj. His EuroVolley career total stands at 495 points, leaving him five short of 500. He scored 24 points in Slovenia’s 3-1 victory over Belgium in 2015.
Cebulj has also developed a particularly productive history against Poland. Across five EuroVolley matches he has scored 79 points against them, with totals of 18, 14, 15, 17 and 15.
That is one more than Tine Urnaut, the player he replaced during this year’s EuroVolley, scored against Poland.
Only two players since 2011 have scored more points against a specific opponent: Belgium’s Sam Deroo with 86 against Serbia and Germany’s György Grozer with 83 against Bulgaria.
Slovenia have a 6-3 record in EuroVolley matches played in Italy. Their first European Championship match on Italian soil was, significantly, the 2023 Semi Final against Poland.
This is Slovenia’s 11th EuroVolley appearance, covering 2001 and every edition from 2007 through 2026.
Their recent international rise has also extended beyond the European Championship: they won bronze at the 2026 VNL after defeating Japan 3-1, their first medal in the competition after losing the bronze-medal match in 2021, 2024 and 2025.
Mujanovic was Slovenia’s leading scorer in the 2026 VNL with 277 points, just one behind Bulgaria’s overall leading scorer Aleksandar Nikolov.
At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Slovenia were the only team to defeat eventual champions France, winning 3-2 in the group phase. Their Olympic campaign ended in the Quarter Finals, where Poland won 3-1. Slovenia also finished fourth at the 2022 World Championship and reached the Last 16 in 2025, losing 3-1 to the United States.
Experience runs particularly deep in this Slovenian squad. Alen Pajenk and Tine Urnaut were included in a record 10th EuroVolley squad, although Urnaut suffered a fractured foot during the 3-1 victory over Czechia.
On the Slovenian bench is Fabio Soli, who won the CEV Champions League with TRENTINO Itas in 2023/24. He is part of a very select group of coaches to have won both the Champions League and EuroVolley: Andrei Voronkov achieved both in 2013, Ferdinando De Giorgi won the Champions League in 2019 and EuroVolley in 2021, while Nikola Grbic won the Champions League in 2021 and EuroVolley in 2023.
And it is Grbic who will stand on the opposite side of the net tonight!
Poland are appearing in their seventh EuroVolley Semi Final, following 1977, 2009, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2026. They can reach the Gold Medal match for the fourth time, after 1977, 2009 and 2023.
More importantly, the defending champions have the opportunity to become the first team since Italy in 2003 and 2005 to win consecutive European Championship titles.
Poland already have an impressive EuroVolley medal collection: two gold, five silver and four bronze for a total of 11 medals, exactly the same number as Poland’s women’s team, whose record stands at two gold, four silver and five bronze.
Their two titles came in 2009 and 2023. Between them came bronze medals in 2011, 2019 and 2021. Their earlier medal history includes bronze in 1967 and five consecutive silver medals between 1975 and 1983, each time finishing behind the Soviet Union.
That long-term consistency is reflected across the wider international calendar. Since the start of the 2018 World Championship, Poland have won a medal at 14 of their last 15 major international competitions — Olympic Games, World Championship, EuroVolley, Volleyball Nations League and World Cup. The only exception was the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where France eliminated them in the Quarter Finals.
At EuroVolley, Poland have won 16 of their last 17 matches, including 12 in straight sets. Their only defeat during that run came against Bulgaria in the final Pool Phase match of this year’s tournament, a 2-3 result that ended their longest EuroVolley winning streak at 14 matches.
They have otherwise been ruthless in 2026, winning six of their seven matches in straight sets. Their 3-0 victories over Latvia in the Eighth Finals and Germany in the Quarter Finals mean they are the first team with an opportunity to win the Last 16, Quarter Final and Semi Final all by 3-0 at the same EuroVolley.
Bartlomiej Boladz is Poland’s leading scorer in this tournament with 83 points, followed by Tomasz Fornal with 79. In 2023, Lukasz Kaczmarek led Poland with 108 points, while Wilfredo Leon topped their scoring charts in 2019 with 116 and 2021 with 127.
The setting position has also produced impressive efficiency numbers. Marcin Komenda has a 60.66% efficiency over 23 sets, while Jan Firlej stands at 58.70% over 13 sets.
Poland have won 470 sets and lost 299 across their EuroVolley history. Tonight’s match will be their 29th appearance at the tournament, dating back to their debut in 1950. They are one of only four teams to have appeared at every EuroVolley this century, alongside France, Italy and Serbia, including Yugoslavia and Serbia & Montenegro. Their only absence came in 1999, when they finished fourth in their qualifying group.
Italy also provides an important piece of the story.
Poland have a 10-7 EuroVolley record in matches played in Italy and have won their last six there, dating from 2005 to 2023. Their last three competitive matches in Milan were all victories, each by 3-2, against Argentina, Serbia and Italy in the 2019 VNL. Nikola Grbic was Serbia’s coach in that tournament.
There is also a striking parallel with Poland’s 2018 World Championship campaign. That year they played their first and second-round matches in Bulgaria before moving to Italy for the later stages, including the Semi Final and Final. In 2026, their route has once again taken them from Bulgaria to Italy, with another Semi Final now awaiting them.
Poland are also one of only two men’s teams to have won Olympic, World Championship and EuroVolley gold, alongside Russia, including the Soviet Union. Their Olympic title came in 1976, while they have won the World Championship three times, in 1974, 2014 and 2018.
Their 2026 season has already produced another major trophy. Poland won the VNL final 3-2 against the United States, collecting their third VNL title after 2023 and 2025. Tomasz Fornal was named MVP, while Boladz was their leading scorer with 184 points.
The 2026 VNL campaign also produced one of the most extraordinary individual sets of the season. Poland’s 3-1 victory over Argentina in Gliwice on 28 June included a first set won by Argentina 50-48 after 59 minutes.
Poland’s success is not limited to the senior team. They won gold at this year’s CEV U18 EuroVolley in Italy and took silver at the U22 EuroVolley in Portugal.
And then there is Grbic.
This is the Serbian coach’s fourth EuroVolley in charge of a national team. He led Serbia to the Quarter Finals in 2015 and bronze in 2017 before taking Poland to gold in 2023. He was already on the winning side against Slovenia in that 2023 Semi Final, when Poland prevailed 3-1. Two years earlier, as Serbia’s coach, he lost a Semi Final 3-2 to Germany.
The first set tonight will mark another personal milestone: it will be Grbic’s 100th set as a coach at EuroVolley, counting his work with both Serbia and Poland.
His own playing career adds another layer to the story. Grbic won the European Championship with Yugoslavia in 2001. Together with Italy’s Andrea Anastasi and Ferdinando De Giorgi, he belongs to the exclusive group of players who have also won EuroVolley as coaches. Josef Cespiva achieved the feat even earlier, winning the 1948 title with Czechoslovakia as a player/coach.
So tonight’s Semi Final is not simply another meeting between two familiar opponents.
It is the fourth consecutive EuroVolley Semi Final between Slovenia and Poland. It is a rematch of the 2023 battle in Rome, a meeting between the two teams that have occupied the EuroVolley podium at each of the last three editions, and the latest chapter in a rivalry that has already produced two matches in 2026 — one won by Slovenia after 139 minutes, the other by Poland in just 68.
For Slovenia, it is another opportunity to reach a fourth European final and finally change the outcome of their previous three. For Poland, it is a chance to move one step closer to becoming the first back-to-back European champion since Italy in 2003 and 2005.
At 17:00, another chapter begins.
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