The magic night of Finland! World Champions Italy eliminated in quarterfinals of EuroVolley 2026!
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Yes. Finland have done it.
In one of the most extraordinary nights of CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026, the Finns stunned hosts Italy 3–2 (21:25, 28:26, 25:16, 20:25, 15:13) at a packed PalaVela in Turin to reach the European Championship semifinals for only the second time in their history.
More than 8,300 spectators came expecting another chapter in Italy’s long tradition of success at the European Championship.
Instead, they witnessed one of the biggest surprises of the tournament, as Finland recovered from a difficult start, survived Italy’s response in the fourth set and then overturned an 8–11 deficit in the deciding set to silence the home crowd.
For Italy, it was a painful ending to a campaign that had been building towards another deep run.
The reigning world champions were aiming for a 15th EuroVolley semifinal and a third consecutive appearance in the final four.
Finland, meanwhile, were trying to recreate the achievement of the 2007 generation, which had reached the semifinals for the first and only time before this tournament.
From the opening exchanges, it was clear that Finland had not travelled to Turin simply to make up the numbers.
Italy started strongly, with Yuri Romano, Giovanni Sanguinetti and Daniele Lavia helping the hosts establish an early advantage. Finland repeatedly found ways to respond, however, and the Marttila brothers were already making their presence felt. Luka Marttila’s serving and attacking pressure helped Finland stay within touching distance, while Nooa Marttila levelled the score at 14–14 with an ace.
Italy eventually managed to create some separation late in the opening set. Pardo Matti made two important contributions at the net and Romano was almost unstoppable in attack, finishing the set with six points at 86% efficiency. His second ace gave Italy set point, and the hosts closed out the opener 25–21.
That might have been the moment when Finland could have lost their momentum. Instead, it became the beginning of something much bigger.
Joonas Jokela began to take over the match.
Finland led for much of the second set, but Italy refused to let them escape. Lavia’s service run turned a 12–14 deficit into a 15–14 lead, and the home side appeared ready to reassert control. Jokela had other ideas. The opposite produced one of the most impressive sets of the night, hammering 10 kills at a remarkable 77% success rate as Finland stayed composed under increasing pressure.
Italy brought Alessandro Michieletto into the action as the set entered its decisive phase, while Sanguinetti continued to produce important points. But Finland had found the belief they needed. They moved ahead 23–22 and, after a tense battle in extra points, Nooa Marttila delivered the decisive attack for 28–26.
The match had changed.
Finland carried that momentum straight into the third set and produced their most dominant spell of the night. Jokela and Luka Marttila led a devastating start as Finland raced to a 10–3 advantage. Italy attempted to fight back, but Finland’s serve and block continued to disrupt the hosts’ rhythm.
The Finns opened a nine-point advantage at one stage and never allowed Italy to regain control. Five blocks in the set underlined their dominance at the net, while Petteri Tyynismaa eventually finished the set 25–16.
Suddenly, Italy were one set away from elimination.
The response from the world champions was immediate. With the PalaVela behind them, Italy came out aggressively in the fourth set and established an early 6–3 lead. Finland once again refused to disappear. Excellent defensive work kept them attached, and Jokela helped bring the score back level at 11–11.
What followed was perhaps the best stretch of volleyball of the night. The two teams traded enormous rallies, with Finland repeatedly finding solutions even when their attacks were out of system. Italy’s block became increasingly influential, but the hosts still needed to work for every point.
At 16–16, the outcome remained completely open. Sanguinetti and Mattia Bottolo eventually gave Italy the advantage they needed, and Simone Giannelli’s service run, including an ace, pushed the hosts towards the finish. Italy took the set 25–20 and forced the match into a deciding fifth.
Everything would now come down to 15 points.
Italy appeared to have the perfect start. Romano found his range, Giannelli contributed at the net and the hosts moved 5–2 ahead. Even when Finland remained within reach, Italy still had the advantage at 11–8.
But Finland simply refused to accept that the story was over.
Luka Marttila and Jokela kept attacking, while the Finnish defence continued to throw itself at everything Italy sent across the net. The gap disappeared point by point. Then came the moment that changed the atmosphere inside the arena: Marttila stepped up from the service line and delivered an ace to make it 12–12.
From there, Finland held their nerve.
Italy could not find the final response. Finland secured the next crucial points and, at 14–13, earned match point. The final attack was enough. Finland completed the comeback at 15–13, and for several seconds the PalaVela was left in stunned silence as the Finnish players celebrated one of the biggest victories in their national team’s history.
Jokela finished the night with 28 points, including 27 kills at 68% efficiency, while Luka Marttila contributed 22 points with 19 kills and three aces. Mika Haapaniemi added 10 points, including five blocks.
For Italy, Yuri Romano led the scoring with 20 points.
But the numbers barely explain what happened in Turin. Finland lost the first set, found themselves behind in the fourth and were trailing 8–11 in the deciding set. Each time, they came back.
Now they have another chapter to write.
Finland will face France in Friday’s semifinal in Milan, with a place in the EuroVolley final at stake. France reached the last four earlier in the day after defeating Romania in straight sets.
Italy, meanwhile, are left to reflect on one of the most painful nights of their recent international history. The reigning world champions had the home crowd, the experience and a two-point lead deep into the deciding set.
Finland had something else: the belief that the match was never over.
“It feels amazing now. Even though it’s a big win, we haven’t accomplished anything yet — the journey is still ongoing. But obviously, winning against Italy, against the world champions, in Italy, is amazing. We knew we had a chance today, but executing it like that — it’s one in a hundred. The mentality with which we came into this match was that we knew we had nothing to lose. The pressure was on Italy, playing in front of their home crowd, so every point we won and every set we took was already something extra for us, because we had no pressure and no expectations,” said Joonas Jokela after the match.
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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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