Poland retain their European crown and book their ticket to Los Angeles
7 min read
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Poland are European champions again. In a final worthy of the stage, the reigning champions defeated Olympic titleholders France 3-1 (31:29, 25:19, 20:25, 25:16) at the Unipol Forum in Milan to retain the continental crown and, with it, secure Europe’s direct men’s quota for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The final was also a rematch of the Paris 2024 Olympic gold-medal match, but this time it was Poland celebrating at the end.
For Nikola Grbić and his players, the achievement goes beyond another medal. Poland became the first men’s national team since Italy in 2003 and 2005 to win consecutive editions of the European Championship.
Italy had previously completed the feat twice, in 1993 and 1995 and then again a decade later, while the Soviet Union had also produced several runs of consecutive European titles during the earlier history of the competition.
The road to Milan, however, was not without its warning signs.
Poland entered EuroVolley as defending champions and one of the tournament favourites, but their perfect start was interrupted in Sofia by Bulgaria. In front of more than 13,000 spectators at Arena 8888 Sofia, the hosts produced a remarkable 3-2 victory (20:25, 31:29, 25:23, 19:25, 20:18), handing Poland the first defeat of the tournament after a 144-minute battle. The first loss of the competition!
But It was also the last one.
Poland responded by moving through the knockout stage with increasing authority. Latvia were swept 3-0 in the round of 16, Germany were beaten by the same score in the quarter-finals, and Slovenia were dispatched 3-0 in the semi-finals.
The final against France was therefore the fourth consecutive straight-set victory in the knockout phase before the champions finally had to negotiate a longer contest for the title. The numbers tell part of the story, but the more significant aspect was the way Grbić’s team repeatedly found solutions when matches became uncomfortable.
France provided the ultimate test.
The Olympic champions had arrived in Milan after eliminating Finland 3-1 in the semi-finals, ending the extraordinary run of the tournament’s surprise package. They also carried the memory of Paris, where they had beaten Poland in the Olympic final two years earlier. This time, however, the European title and the Olympic qualification ticket were at stake.
The opening set immediately produced the kind of drama expected from a final between two of the world’s leading teams. Poland established an advantage, but France refused to let the set escape. At 26-25, the French were one point away from taking the lead in the match when a video review changed the course of the rally. Bartłomiej Lemański’s attack had initially appeared to give France the set, but the review identified a French net touch. Instead of 27-25 and a 1-0 lead for France, the score became 26-26.
Poland survived the moment and then took advantage of it. The teams continued trading points deep into the set before Bartłomiej Bołądź finished a crucial transition ball at 30-29, giving Poland the opening set 31-29.
That was the kind of moment that can change a final.
France had been within touching distance of taking control, but Poland emerged from the longest exchange of the match with the lead.
The second set was far more straightforward. Poland immediately applied pressure, moving ahead 8-3 and then 11-4 after a Lemański ace. France struggled to reproduce the level of resistance shown in the opening set, while Poland gradually transformed its psychological advantage into scoreboard control. The champions eventually closed the set 25-19 to move within one set of another European title.
France were not finished.
Andrea Giani’s side came out of the third set with a different level of intensity, building an early 4-1 lead and then extending it to 10-4. Moussé Gueye became increasingly influential through the middle, while France finally managed to dictate the rhythm rather than react to Poland’s game. The Olympic champions controlled the set and reduced the deficit to 2-1 with a 25-20 victory.
The response from Poland was emphatic.
France remained within reach in the opening exchanges of the fourth set, but the balance began to shift again as Poland strengthened its block-defence and transition game. Kamil Semeniuk provided an important spark after entering from the bench, while Bołądź continued to deliver in the decisive moments. Once Poland moved clear, there was no second comeback. The final set ended 25-16, and the European crown stayed in Polish hands.
The scoring was shared rather than concentrated around a single star. Bołądź led Poland with 16 points to his name through 54% in attack and 1 ace, while Wilfredo León and Tomasz Fornal contributed 13 each. León was particularly influential from the service line, producing six aces.
France’s Mathis Henno was the match’s leading scorer with 20 points through 56% in attack, 1 ace and 1 block, closely followed by Théo Faure who added 18. Their individual numbers, however, could not compensate for Poland’s greater balance across the decisive phases of the match.
And that balance perhaps says more about this Polish team than any individual statistic.
Throughout the tournament, Grbić could turn to different players at different moments, and the final was no exception. León, Fornal and Bołądź all played decisive roles, while Semeniuk’s impact from the bench became particularly important when the match began to turn in the fourth set.
The victory also completes a remarkable European Championship cycle for Poland. They arrived in Milan carrying the weight of being the defending champions, survived their only defeat of the tournament in Sofia, and then responded by winning four consecutive knockout matches without dropping a set before the final.
Most importantly, the title changes the Olympic picture.
By winning EuroVolley, Poland secured the direct European quota for Los Angeles 2028. The final therefore offered far more than a continental trophy: it was also a direct battle for a place at the next Olympic Games. The qualification system awards Europe one direct quota through the continental championship, making the Milan final a particularly significant fixture in the opening stages of the new Olympic cycle.
There is also something fitting about the way the story ended.
Two years after France defeated Poland in Paris, the two teams met again with another major title at stake. The setting was different, the prize was different and the roles were reversed, but the level of the rivalry remained the same.
This time, Poland had the final word.
They arrived in Italy as European champions.
They leave as European champions again — and with Los Angeles 2028 already on the horizon!
“It is an incredible feeling – we played a great match against a truly tough opponent, who made things difficult for us. I would like to thank our fans; they travel across the whole world to support us and the atmosphere was amazing tonight as well. It feels great to win such a competition and qualify for the Olympics in such an environment,” said opposite Bartłomiej Bołądź.
“These kinds of matches, with the gold medal at stake, come with special pressure, but the most important thing is that we won. It was a tough match, and gold medal games have their own specific character, but the most important thing is that after our worst moment, we came back and once again showed our Volleyball,” added his teammate Tomasz Fornal
“Sometimes I feel like a fan, because my players do unbelievable things. I have to congratulate them for everything they did on the court, for the approach and mentality they showed, and for how professional they are. They always do everything to make this team win. I am absolutely proud to be the coach of this team,” stated head coach Nikola Grbić
Andrea Giani, head coach of France: “Our goal was to play a long match and we played at their level in two of the four sets. Don’t forget in our team there are players who were in a EuroVolley final for the first time in their careers. I see this as a starting point for a group that can only grow; at the end we have to accept the defeat because Poland played better.”
“They were more consistent, especially after the first set where I think we showed great Volleyball. They deserved the win; we lost our way a bit in the fourth set, but we are a young team, and that’s how we learn,” added France’s outside hitter Trévor Clévenot.
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🏐| CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 | FINALS
Saturday Semptember 26, 2026
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👉🏼🥇| GOLD MEDAL MATCH | 21.00 (Local Time) | France – Poland 1-3 (29:31, 19:25, 25:20, 16:25)
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