The Ukrainian men’s volleyball team beat Israel 3–1 in their opening Group B match at the 2026 European Championship. The match took place on 10 September in Sofia at Arena 8888. Raúl Lozano’s team secured three points; Dmytro Yanchuk was the team’s top scorer with 18 points.
Briefly about the main points
- Ukraine kicked off Euro 2026 with a win over Israel.
- The Ukrainians won three sets, conceding the third to their opponents.
- Yanchuk scored 18 points and injured his foot towards the end of the match.
- Plotnytskyi and Semenyuk scored 14 and 11 points respectively.
- On 11 September, Ukraine will play North Macedonia.
Ukraine won three sets; Yanchuk picked up an injury
The Ukrainians took the first two sets — 25–22 and 25–19. The Israelis responded with a 25–22 victory in the third set, but in the fourth, the «blue and yellows» won again 25–19 and prevented their opponents from taking the match to a tie-break.
Captain Yuriy Semenyuk After the match, he described the result as positive, whilst drawing attention to the team’s 19 errors that led to goals. He said that the Ukrainian side need to implement their tactical instructions more effectively in their next matches.
Dmytro Yanchuk topped the national team’s scoring charts. OLeg Plotnytskyi finished the match with 14 points, whilst Yurii Semenyuk finished with 11.
In the fourth set, with the score at 22–18, Yanchuk landed on his opponent’s foot and injured his foot. The outside hitter returned to the match and finished it off with a successful attack, but was limping after the match. He said the injury did not involve his ankle; the player’s fitness for the next match is to be determined following an assessment of his condition on 11 September.
Ukraine’s upcoming matches in Group B
Next match In Group B, the Ukrainian team will face North Macedonia on 11 September. Kick-off is scheduled for 16:00 Kyiv time. The very next day, the team will take on Bulgaria — the match will kick off at 19:00.
Following this, Ukraine will face Portugal and Poland. The top four teams from each of the tournament’s four groups will progress to the round of 16.
