European Championships: Italvolley Advances to the Quarterfinals, Crushing Denmark

The quarterfinals are a reality. On Sunday evening, the Italian men’s volleyball team defeated Denmark 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-11), securing a spot in the next round of the 2026 European Championships. At the end of a well-played match, the Azzurri led confidently in all three sets, earning a well-deserved victory. It’s been a perfect run so far for Giannelli and his teammates, who secured five wins in their five group-stage matches and claimed their sixth victory tonight—their most important one yet—in this do-or-die match against the Danish team coached by Knudsen. Their next opponent will be Finland, fresh off a tie-break victory over Greece (22-25, 25-16, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13); the teams will face off next Wednesday.

“Today we had to play like we play in do-or-die matches,” emphasized Fefè De Giorgi, coach of the Italian national team. “Denmark is a tough opponent; they’ve allowed few aces so far and play the ball well. We did a good job of putting them in a tough spot. There was a moment in the first set when we had to make some adjustments. Mati is improving and needs to keep playing. It’s his first year, and he’s a serious, young, and new player. I’m satisfied that we played the way we wanted to. There are no easy teams to face anymore—just look at today’s results in the other matches.”

“We did a good job of bouncing back from the first set, which was a bit complicated,” commented Fabio Balaso. Now we’re focusing solely on the quarterfinals; it’ll be another challenging match where the level of play will rise again. We mustn’t underestimate any team, because everyone gives their all against Italy.” Giovanni Sanguinetti echoed this sentiment: “We’re happy with the result and with having won this match in three sets. It was very important for us. In every match, of course, some players are more involved than others. We’re just focused on improving ahead of the quarterfinals.”

This European campaign confirms the choices De Giorgi made when selecting the roster, emphasizing continuity. The Italian coach has built a group of fourteen players with a well-established technical identity: at setter, the duo of Giannelli and Sbertoli; on the outside, Lavia, Michieletto, Bottolo, Sani, and Porro; at middle blocker, Galassi, Sanguinetti, and Mati—whom the coach himself mentioned in the post-match interview. At setter, Rychlicki and Romanò provide complementary options, while in the back row, Balaso and Laurenzano round out the roster.

The continental tournament—a traveling event with strong symbolic significance—was inaugurated on September 10 in Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples, in the presence of President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. After its debut in the Campania capital, Italy played the group stage at the PalaPanini in Modena, facing Greece, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia. The tournament then moved between Turin and Sofia for the knockout stage, with Milan designated as the venue for the semifinals and the final, scheduled for September 25 and 26.