The knockout stage of the European Team Championships in Zadar brought a day full of drama, long battles, and emotional moments. Several underdogs who had caused upsets in the group stage entered the Round of 16 determined to challenge Europe’s elite, and they delivered fierce performances that pushed the favourites to their limits. Portugal – Spain 3–2 In a clash of epic proportions lasting over three and a half hours, Portugal secured their place in the quarter-finals after a dramatic 3–2 victory over Spain. Spain’s youthful lineup, Juan PÉREZ (23), Daniel BERZOSA (19), and Miguel PANTOJA (21), pushed Portugal’s experienced trio of João GERALDO (30), Tiago APOLÓNIA (39), and João MONTEIRO (42) to the edge before last Championships’ bronze medallists finally prevailed to reach the Round of 8. PÉREZ was the standout for Spain, scoring impressive wins over both GERALDO and APOLÓNIA, who made his first appearance at the Championships following recovery from a left knee injury. “It was a really tough match against a very young and fiery team,” said GERALDO. “We managed to control our emotions very well. Spain played with so much energy and passion, they were big fighters. But we managed to absorb that energy in the right way and finish the match with a victory.” Reflecting further, GERALDO added: “It’s very hard to control their spin, everyone struggles with it. But the most important thing was to stay emotionally stable and believe until the end that we would win. PÉREZ was on fire today; he played two great matches. The third match was crucial, João MONTEIRO won 3–0 but was down 10–7 in the first and had another very tight set. That win gave us a big push. Then Tiago and I beat BERZOSA, who’s also a talented young player coming up. I’m sure he will be one of the best one day. But today, Tiago and I relied on our experience and qualities, and we proved that it still counts.” GERALDO also praised the emerging generation of players: “Many countries now have strong young players, and Portugal as well. We have Tiago ABIODUN, who’s already shown he can compete at senior level. The level of the new generation is really high, there are many more young players than in my time, or even in the generations of Tiago, Marcos, and MONTEIRO. It’s exciting to see who will become the best in the future. Meanwhile, I’ll keep fighting to stay among the best too.” Speaking about APOLÓNIA’s recovery, he added: “Tiago is improving day by day. Playing today was an important step, he’s getting better and better.” Slovenia – Moldova 3–1 Slovenia’s trio of Deni KOZUL, Darko JORGIC, and Bojan TOKIC secured a solid 3–1 victory over Moldova’s Vladislav URSU, Andrei PUTUNTICA, and Denis TERNA, booking their place in the quarter-finals. After Moldova had previously stunned Austria and nearly defeated Croatia in the group stage, Slovenia approached the match with caution. “I think they could have even finished first in their group,” explained JORGIC. “Their match against Croatia was 50–50. We watched it in the hall and knew they weren’t an easy opponent. We were prepared from the start to the end for a tough fight, and that’s exactly what happened.” URSU continued his strong form, defeating KOZUL in the opening match. “URSU is playing really well. He already played in the Olympic qualification last year and has improved a lot,” said JORGIC. “Deni didn’t find his rhythm, and URSU was dominant. The first game could have gone either way, but in the end, we managed to turn the match around.” JORGIC then led by example, winning both of his matches, against PUTUNTICA and URSU, while TOKIC’s experience sealed the team’s victory. “I started my match a bit under stress, it’s difficult to play when you’re 0–1 down and the team expects you to win,” admitted JORGIC.“But in the end, Bojan was fantastic. His experience made the difference. He showed exactly why we needed him here.” This result marks Slovenia’s return to the top eight and proves they are on the good way to repeat their memorable run in 2017, when they last reached the medal podium. “It’s a great result for us, honestly, we didn’t expect it, but everything is possible,” said JORGIC. “We’ll keep fighting and look forward to facing Portugal or Spain next. Hopefully, we can deliver another strong performance and maybe celebrate a medal again like in 2017.” France – Slovakia 3–0 France’s team of Alexis LEBRUN, Félix LEBRUN, and Simon GAZY advanced to the quarter-finals after a convincing 3–0 victory over Slovakia’s Yang WANG, Alexander VALUCH, and Jakub ZELINKA. The French trio, one of the tournament favourites, handled the challenge with efficiency, securing a straightforward path into the last eight. “Everything’s going well so far, we’re very happy to be in the quarter-finals and can’t wait for the competition to continue,” said Félix LEBRUN. “At 1–0 and 3–0 up against VALUCH, I kind of switched off a bit, and he quickly came back to 4–3. I didn’t necessarily play my best at that point, he raised his level compared to the earlier games, so the match evened out a little. But so far in this tournament, I’ve managed to win all my matches even when that happens, so it’s not a big issue. The important thing is to get the win, though I hope I’ll have fewer dips in my level of play as we move forward. Here at the European Championships, the goal is to build momentum, to find your rhythm, stay focused on every point, and, little by little, make fewer mistakes. If you can avoid them altogether, that’s even better.” Germany – Denmark 3-0 Germany’s Benedikt DUDA, Patrick FRANZISKA and Dang QIU justified their status by overcaming Denmark’s Jonathan GROTH, Anders LIND and Martin ANDERSEN. Right from the opening game between Benedikt DUDA and Jonathan GROTH, the match was spectacular. Duda saved four game points against the Dane before finally taking the opener 15–13. Although the

On the fifth day of play at the European Team Championships in Zadar, the top 16 teams battled for a place in the quarter-finals. Poland – Austria 3–2 Poland advanced to the quarter-finals after a thrilling 3–2 victory over Austria. For the Polish side, Natalia BAJOR, Zuzanna WIELGOS, and Katarzyna WĘGRZYN each contributed to the decisive scoreline. In Austria’s team, Sofia POLCANOVA secured two wins, but Karoline MISCHEK and Yuan LIU were unable to provide the needed support. “The key was to stay in the match despite POLCANOVA’s two wins, we knew she would get them,” said WIELGOS.“For me, the receive is the most important part of my game, and I’m happy it worked well today. I was very stressed; playing a decisive match at such an important stage of the Championships didn’t make it easier.However, I managed to stay focused until the end.” Ukraine – Hungary 3–0 Ukraine’s trio of Margaryta PESOTSKA, Veronika MATIUNINA, and Tetyana BILENKO halted Hungary’s progress with a commanding 3–0 victory. For Hungary, Georgina POTA, Rebeka NAGY, and Johanna PETERY were unable to find a way through. PESOTSKA’s opening win over POTA (3–1) proved decisive, setting the tone for Ukraine’s overall success. “My match against POTA was very close because we’ve played each other many times and know each other’s game well,” explained PESOTSKA. “I needed to stay calm and focused in the key moments. I managed to do that, and it was a very tight win. The crucial part of our team victory was to stop Georgina.” Portugal – Luxembourg 3–0 Portugal’s trio Fu YU, Jieni SHAO, and Julia LEAL advanced to the quarter-finals with a 3–0 victory over Luxembourg’s Sarah DE NUTTE, Tessy DUMONT, and Enisa SADIKOVIC. One of the biggest surprises of the Women’s Team group stage, Luxembourg failed to claim a single individual win this time, but the scoreline does not fully reflect how hard-fought the match was. Sarah DE NUTTE came back from 0–2 down to level the score before narrowly losing 10–12 in the decisive game, while Enisa SADIKOVIC also pushed LEAL to the full distance. “At this level, it’s normal that we have to be at the top of our game,” said LEAL. “It’s already Day 5 of the Championships, and I’ve gained a lot of confidence here. Against Ukraine, I expect a really tough match.” Netherlands – Czechia 3–1 Led by the refreshed Jie LI, the Netherlands defeated Czechia 3–1 to reach the quarter-finals. The Dutch team, Jie LI, Britt EERLAND, and Shuohan MEN, overcame Hana MATELOVA, Veronika POLAKOVA, and Hanka KODET in a hard-fought encounter. LI claimed victories over both MATELOVA and POLAKOVA, while EERLAND prevailed against POLAKOVA. KODET secured the only point for the Czech side with a win over MEN. “It feels like in every European Championship we somehow have to play Czechia,” reflected EERLAND with a smile. “We were even a little surprised we didn’t face them in the group stage, it’s as if it was meant to happen in the last 16. It’s always a tough match against them. MATELOVA is a well-known player, and their younger ones already have medals from the youth circuit, so you can’t underestimate them. Sometimes it’s even more difficult because you don’t know exactly how they’ll play or what they’ll bring that day, maybe they catch fire and win big matches.” EERLAND underlined the team’s determination: “No matter what happens, we want to be there as a full, united team. We didn’t want to underestimate them at all. They also changed their order, so LI had to play MATELOVA at the end that was expected to be tight. It became a match with some extra tension, but LI fought through it really well. She didn’t put herself under pressure, she kept the pressure on the table, and that made the difference.” Speaking about her own win against POLAKOVA, she added: “Starting 1–0 up helped me to settle in. I noticed she played with a different rhythm and timing, so sometimes it was better just to slow the pace, touch the ball softly, and keep it on the table. I focused on small details, that’s how I won points. I’m happy I could keep that level for all three games.” EERLAND also commented on Shuohan MEN’s loss to KODET: “Our number three had already beaten KODET once before, so we knew she could be dangerous again. But when you’ve beaten someone before, you also expect from yourself to do it again and that brings extra pressure. We told her: ‘You don’t have to win, they’re the ones who must. Just put the pressure on them.’ She really tried to fight her own nerves, you could see how much she wanted it. In the end, it was a bit of a mental game. It’s a pity she couldn’t take the match, but we were confident that LI could finish it for us and she did. I’m proud of how we handled it as a team. In the end, we did it together, and that’s what matters most.” Spain – Sweden 0–3 Sweden’s team of Linda BERGSTRÖM, Christina KÄLLBERG, and Filippa BERGAND advanced to the quarter-finals after a commanding 3–0 victory over Spain’s Maria XIAO, Huan ZHANG, and Elvira RAD. BERGSTRÖM and KÄLLBERG produced impressive performances against XIAO and ZHANG, setting the tone for Sweden’s success. In the closing match, BERGAND was pushed to the limit by RAD, but held firm to complete the sweep. BERGSTRÖM on her match:“It was almost a perfect match. I could play the way I wanted throughout the three sets, and I’m happy I could secure the first point for the team.” On the team’s performance: “It’s really strong to beat Spain 3–0. Stina played a very good match against an opponent she doesn’t like to face that much, and Filippa finished it off with a very strong win. It feels great to win 3–0.” On the next opponent (likely Germany): “It will be tough, they’re probably the best team here. But we’ll

Both the Men’s and Women’s Events were marked by surprises in the group stage, but several of the teams that arrived in Zadar as favourites managed to recover after early setbacks and bounce back strongly to secure their place in the Final Stage of the European Team Championships 2027, which will be held in Porto. After two rounds of play-off matches, Slovenia and France in the women’s event, and Austria and Czechia in the men’s event, booked their tickets for the next stage of the continental competition. In the Women’s Team event, France, represented by Jia Nan YUAN, Prithika PAVADE, and Leana HOCHART, recorded convincing 3–0 victories over both Wales and Türkiye to finish in positions 17–18 and secure qualification. Slovenia’s trio of Ana TOFANT, Sara TOKIĆ, and Katarina STRAŽAR faced far greater pressure, going the full distance in both of their encounters against Greece and Bulgaria, but ultimately prevailed to join France among the qualified teams. In the Men’s Team event, Austria’s Andreas LEVENKO, Robert GARDOS, and Maciej KOŁODZIEJCZYK overcame Ukraine and the Netherlands to clinch their spot in the Final Stage. Czechia’s Lubomir JANČAŘÍK, Pavel ŠIRUČEK, and Radim MORÁVEK also delivered a strong performance, defeating Italy and Hungary by identical 3–1 margins.