European Volleyball Championships: Fefè De Giorgi Has Made His Selections

The journey toward the 2026 European Volleyball Championships continues—the highlight of the season for the Italian men’s national team. With the official roster announcements, Head Coach Fefè De Giorgi has finalized the 14-player squad that will compete in this traveling tournament of great symbolic significance, which will kick off on September 10 at 9:05 p.m. in Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples, in the presence of President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.

Italy has been placed in Pool A and, after its debut in the Campania capital, will travel to the PalaPanini in Modena to face Greece, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia—all in evening matches. The tournament will then split between Turin and Sofia for the round of 16 and quarterfinals, before moving to Milan, the venue for the semifinals and final on September 25 and 26.

De Giorgi’s roster selections reflect a commitment to continuity: the setter role will be handled by the Giannelli–Sbertoli duo, while on the outside, Lavia, the returning Michieletto, and a lineup rounded out by Bottolo, Sani, and Porro stand out. At middle blocker, alongside the returning Galassi and Sanguinetti, will be Mati, while at setter, the Rychlicki–Romanò duo provides complementary options. In the back row, Balaso’s reliability and Laurenzano’s development round out a team that heads into the European Championship with a well-established technical identity.

2026 European Volleyball Championship, Italy’s roster:
Setters: Simone Giannelli, Riccardo Sbertoli;
Outside Hitters: Mattia Bottolo, Daniele Lavia, Alessandro Michieletto, Francesco Sani, Luca Porro;
Middle blockers: Gianluca Galassi, Giovanni Sanguinetti, Pardo Mati;
Opposite hitters: Kamil Rychlicki, Yuri Romanò;
Liberos: Fabio Balaso, Gabriele Laurenzano.