The Bulgarian men's national volleyball team has guaranteed its place in the knockout stage of the European Championship following a 3-1 set victory over Israel. The match, held at the "Arena 8888" hall, also served as revenge for the world vice-champions for their previous failure against Ukraine with the same score. To date, Blengini's team has recorded three victories in the tournament, having previously overcome Portugal and North Macedonia.
To start the match, head coach Gianlorenzo Blengini fielded the following lineup: Simeon Nikolov, Alex Grozdanov, Aleksandar Nikolov, Iliya Petkov, Denislav Bardarov, Asparuh Asparuhov, and libero Jasmin Velichkov. Bulgaria started with two points after an Israeli attack went out, but the hosts quickly leveled the score at 3:3. Iliya Petkov scored a point through a block to make it 6:4, and Asparuh Asparuhov delivered an ace for 8:6. Nevertheless, Israel managed to pull ahead 13:12 and even built a two-point lead through a block-out and an out ball. The match turned into a point-for-point battle, and with Israel leading 16:18, Blengini used his first timeout. Despite this, the Israelis maintained their efficiency and extended the lead to three points — 20:17. A second timeout was called by Blengini at 18:22. After Russi Zhelev entered to serve, Aleksandar Nikolov narrowed the gap with an attack, but Zhelev subsequently committed a service error. At 24:22, Israel reached two game balls, but the visitors won the first set 25:23, with Denislav Bardarov being the top scorer for Bulgaria with five points.
In the second set, the Bulgarian team started more confidently with a 2:0 lead, and after an ace by Alex Nikolov, the difference became 5:1, forcing Israel to take a timeout. Although Vyacheslav Bachkala helped reduce the deficit and equalize with a series of good serves, an ace by Simeon Nikolov once again gave Bulgaria the lead. However, Shay Lieberman scored a new ace to make the score 12:13, prompting Blengini to call a timeout. The Bulgarians staged a comeback and led 17:15, which forced Israeli coach Itamar Stein to take a timeout. Simeon Nikolov scored a point, but Italian referee Dominga Lot ruled a lift for the opponent. At 20:18 for Israel, a video challenge was conducted following an Alex Nikolov counter-attack, which confirmed the point for the Israelis. Tension escalated, and the older of the Nikolov brothers received a yellow card, after which Blengini took a timeout to calm his team amidst the crowd's cheering. Denislav Blengini made an important block for 22:20, followed by an ace from Alex Nikolov. After a service error by Lieberman, the score reached 24:21, giving Israel three chances to equalize, but Aleksandar Nikolov spiked the ball for 25:22.
Bulgarian dominance was also observed in the third game, which began 3:0 through attacks by Grozdanov and Bardarov. After a triple block by the hosts, the score became 6:2 and Stein called a timeout, but the Bulgarians' lead increased to 10:4. Israel attempted to fight back through an ace by Eli Haver, followed by an ace from Alex Nikolov for 13:7 and another timeout by the Israeli side. An attack through Aleksandar Nikolov's block made the difference 18:10, and Simeon Nikolov added the following point. Although Israel scored a series of three points to reduce the deficit to 14:20, a counter-attack by Grozdanov brought the score to 23:14. Bardarov attacked for 24:15, and Simeon Nikolov spiked the ball for the final game victory at 25:15.