Poland will face France in the EuroVolley 2026 men’s final at Milan’s Unipol Forum on Saturday 26 September, with the European title and Los Angeles 2028 Olympic qualification at stake.
The final is scheduled to begin at 21:00 after Slovenia and Finland contest the bronze-medal match at 17:00. Poland arrive as defending European champions, while France are the reigning Olympic champions and are coached by Andrea Giani.
The finalists came through their semi-finals in differing fashion on 25 September. Poland completed a straight-sets win over Slovenia, while France responded to a second-set setback against Finland before taking the final two sets decisively.
Poland maintain straight-sets knockout run
Poland beat Slovenia 3-0, taking the semi-final 25-23, 25-23, 25-18. The result extended a knockout-stage run in which Poland had also beaten Latvia in the last 16 and Germany in the quarter-finals without dropping a set.
Slovenia stayed close in the opening two sets, with each decided by two points, but Poland pulled clear in the third. The Polish Volleyball Federation reported that Wilfredo Leon scored 11 points, including two aces. Bartlomiej Boladz had 11 points after the first two sets, one more than Leon at that stage, underlining the attacking support around Poland.
That route gives Poland an opportunity to retain the European crown. It also puts one further victory between the side and Olympic qualification, with the Polish federation stating before the final that the gold-medal match would determine advancement to the Los Angeles Games.
Poland’s semi-final performance offers a clear recent indicator of consistency: they handled the pressure of two tight early sets against Slovenia and then completed the match in three. That does not settle the final, but it means France will face a team which has not needed a fourth set in the elimination rounds covered by the available results.
France recover to end Finland’s run
France earned their place by defeating Finland 3-1: 25-17, 18-25, 25-18, 25-15. Finland levelled the contest in the second set, but France re-established control thereafter and closed the fourth set by a 10-point margin.
Mathis Henno led France with 21 points. Volleyball.it reported that 19 of those came from 27 attacking attempts, while Theo Faure contributed 20 points. France finished with 52% positive attack, seven blocks and six aces, according to the same match report.
Volleyball.it also recorded 57% positive reception for France, compared with 49% for Finland. Finland registered six blocks, one ace and 43% positive attack in the semi-final, but France’s stronger attacking return and six aces accompanied their recovery after the second set. The figures do not predict the final, although they provide a measured account of how France regained control after Finland had drawn level.
Those figures reflected the balance of France’s semi-final display after the second-set loss. Henno supplied the highest individual total, Faure added a second major scoring contribution, and France also produced points through serving and blocking. Giani noted that Finland had beaten Italy.
Giani described Poland as the tournament’s strongest side in comments reported by Volleyball.it, pointing to their consistency in difficult moments and the range of options available to them. He also said France’s route to the final reflected the development of a reshaped group, rather than an entitlement based on previous achievements.
The final will therefore decide two defined prizes: the 2026 European championship and Los Angeles 2028 Olympic qualification. Slovenia and Finland, beaten by the eventual finalists, will return to the Unipol Forum earlier in the day to decide third place.