On the third day of play at the European Team Championships in Zadar, the teams seeded No. 2 and No. 3 in their respective groups fought for their remaining positions in the Round of 16, which will be played on Thursday.
In the opening two days, the men’s teams that had already secured their place in the Round of 16 were: Sweden, France, Germany, Romania, Croatia, and Belgium.
Additionally, the teams that reached the last 16 also confirmed their qualification for the 2026 World Championships in London.
England – Greece 1–3
Group D: Portugal 2–0, Greece 1–1, England 0–2
Despite a strong start, highlighted by Tom JARVIS’s win over Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS, Greece secured their spot in the knockout stage as the second-placed team in the group. Panagiotis GIONIS overcame both JARVIS and Paul DRINKHALL, while Georgios STAMATOUROS prevailed against Samuel WALKER.
“Today we knew we had to win 3–0 or 3–1, because England beat Portugal. England is a very good team, even though they are here without PITCHFORD, for them that’s a big loss,” said Panagiotis GIONIS.
“We played freely, we believed we could do it, and I think all the guys played perfectly. If Ioannis had been a little luckier, he could have won the first match as well, and maybe we could have taken first place in the group. But in the end, we’re very happy. We focused a lot on this game, believed in ourselves, and fought hard. We were a little luckier today, and we won.”
Asked if he had any preferences for the Round of 16 draw, GIONIS smiled:
“Of course, we have some preferences. If you play against Sweden, France, or Germany, it’s tougher, you have to be honest about that. But our goal was to qualify, and now we’ve done it. We’ll just play, enjoy the moment, and see what happens. For us, it’s already good to play another match, and we’re very happy with our performance.
If we get a good draw, well, I’m dreaming a little (laughs), maybe if we can have Belgium, that would be a very good draw for us. But we’ll see.”
The Greek Olympian added:“When you qualify from such a difficult group, you start believing in everything. We know it’s tough to beat the top teams, but in sports, you never know what can happen. Now we’ll play more freely, it’s a great experience, especially for the young players, as it’s their first time reaching the top 16 at the Europeans.
All our young players are getting more experienced; they play in strong leagues. What’s most important is that we enjoy it, stay relaxed, prepare well, and stay focused. In the end, anything can happen, we’ve seen many surprises in recent years, and everyone can beat everyone if you believe in yourself. The key is to work, practice, and believe.”
Finland – Poland 1–3
Group H: Belgium 2–0, Poland 1–1, Finland 0–2
Poland recovered from their opening-round defeat against Belgium and advanced to the knockout stage after a solid victory over Finland.
Milosz REDZIMSKI was the backbone of the team’s success with two wins, against Benedek OLAH and Aleksi RASANEN, while Marek BADOWSKI added one more point by beating RASANEN. Alex NAUMI scored Finland’s only win, overcoming Samuel KULCZYCKI.
“For me, it was really nice,” said Milosz REDZIMSKI. “I wasn’t feeling great in the morning at the beginning, but after overcoming some problems with low energy, I played quite well. I didn’t see much of Samuel’s game, but I saw it was very close. Marek played great and won quickly, so we’re very happy. We feel strong and ready to fight for a medal.”
“We’ve played many times against Benedek OLAH because he competes in the Polish League, so we were very well prepared tactically. That preparation was the key, we knew we needed to beat him to win the team match, and we did it. We’re really happy.”
Marek BADOWSKI added: “We fight for every game. We know our potential, and we know we can beat very good teams here. We’re prepared and ready to give everything. We had a very tough match against Belgium, and we wanted to do things right today, we prepared well for this match.”
Netherlands – Slovakia 1–3
Group F: Romania 2–0, Slovakia 1–1, Netherlands 0–2
Slovakia advanced to the next stage after a 3–1 victory over the Netherlands. Gabrielius CAMARA gave the Dutch team a better start with a win over Lubomir PISTEJ, but Yang WANG was in splendid form, defeating both Kas VAN OOST and CAMARA. Alexander VALUCH added the third point with a win over Barry BERBEN.
“They have a very young and competitive team, so we knew it would be a tough match. We played them last time in Malmö, we won 3–0, but all the matches were very close, so we knew it would be hard again,” explained the experienced Lubomir PISTEJ.
“I didn’t start well, but my adversary played really good and deserved to win. Then WANG Yang came back with an easy victory; he’s in very good shape. At one moment he was down 1–11 and 0–4, that’s 15–1 in total, and then he came back somehow! Lucky for us, because it was really not an easy match today. We knew this was our most important match in the group, and we managed to win, so we’re very happy.”
PISTEJ added:“Two points from WANG were the key, but also VALUCH, he didn’t play yesterday, and today he got the chance and took it from position three. It was good for us to lead 2–1; it helped Yang mentally as well. I was ready to step in if needed. I think we are normally the stronger team, but you always have to prove it on the table.”
Serbia – Ukraine 3-2
Group C: Germany 2-0, Serbia 1-1, Ukraine 0-2.
Serbia secured a hard-fought 3–2 victory over Ukraine in Group C, with Dimitrije LEVAJAC making a triumphant return to the line-up after recovering from a shoulder injury. Playing his first matches of the championships, LEVAJAC won both encounters confidently overcoming Anton LIMONOV, and then staging a remarkable comeback against Andrii GREBENIUK. Trailing 0–2, he recovered to win in five thrilling games. Zsolt PETO sealed Serbia’s overall victory in another tense duel against LIMONOV.
“My first match wasn’t easy at all. It finished 3–1, but it was also 1–1 and 10–9 I had a bit of luck there, I must admit. As for the second match, I started maybe a bit too nervous and didn’t play well tactically. It was 2–0 for him, and after that I thought, ‘I’ll just play and see what happens.’ I stopped overthinking and focused only on the game, completely blocking everything else out. Then I started to find my rhythm playing better, feeling better, serving better overall, everything improved a lot. After those two games, when it became 2–2, things went downhill again; I made a few unnecessary mistakes, and he had some luck early in the fifth set. At 9–5 I was behind again, I thought it was basically over, but I decided to just play and see what happens. In the end, luck came back to me. I tried to stay calm and composed, and it paid off. Luck turned my way in the end, and that’s what matters most,” said LEVAJAC.
The Serbian player was equally candid about the team’s ambitions and effort:
“Objectively, we don’t have the quality to match some of the top national teams here, but with desire, fighting spirit, heart, and a bit of luck, we’ve once again managed to win the matches that matter and that deserves praise. I’d like to congratulate the whole team, really. And Žole, who pulled out that fifth match it’s never easy to play at 2–2, especially for him. He played a great fifth game.As for young NINKOVIĆ, I’d also like to praise him I think he played a very good match. Of course, you can see he lacks a bit of experience; it’s his first major competition, but overall, it was great. Even though the team has changed compared to previous years and expectations aren’t the same anymore, we’re happy with this result. Our goal has been achieved, and everything else is just a bonus.”
