Italvolley: Poland, coached by Lavarini, will be the opponent in the semifinals

Poland will be Italy’s opponent in the semifinals of the CEV Trendyol EuroVolley 2026. The Polish national team secured its spot in the tournament’s penultimate round by defeating the Netherlands 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23) at the Sinan Erdem Sports Hall in Istanbul. The match is scheduled for Saturday, September 5, at 6:00 p.m. (Italian time), when Julio Velasco’s Italian squad will compete for a spot in the continental final.

In the other semifinal, Turkey will face Serbia. The hosts defeated Germany 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22), setting the stage for the second semifinal scheduled for Saturday, September 5, at 6:00 p.m.

For Italy, the final stage of its European campaign is now in full swing. The Italian team finished Pool D in Gothenburg with five wins, before defeating Bulgaria 3-0 in the round of 16 and coming from behind to beat Sweden 3-1 in the quarterfinals played in Brno. It has been a flawless run so far, but the match against Sweden presented the first real hurdle of the tournament.

Meanwhile, the Italian national team has already arrived in Istanbul. The Azzurre landed around 2:00 p.m. local time on a charter flight that departed from Brno that morning, a flight also carrying the Serbian team, which had already qualified for the semifinals.

Now Italy faces the match that will determine who advances to the final. They’ll take on Poland, which reached this decisive match after defeating the Netherlands in a semifinal that promises to be intense and exciting. The Italian women’s team heads into the match on the strength of a perfect record and with the knowledge that they’ve already demonstrated their resilience in Brno. On Saturday in Istanbul, they’ll need to take another step forward to try to reach the European Championship final.