The Italian women's national volleyball team has swept through the group stage at the 2026 European Championships, recording five consecutive wins and securing top spot in Pool D with a flawless record. The squad, led by legendary coach Julio Velasco, will now face one of the lower-ranked teams from Pool B in the round of 16, scheduled for the coming weekend in Brno, Czech Republic.
Why This Matters:
• Italy's dominance continues: Fresh off Olympic gold in 2024 and the world title in 2025, the azzurre remain the team to beat in European women's volleyball.
• First real test passed: The 3-1 victory over France marked the first time Italy dropped a set in the tournament—a useful wake-up call before knockout rounds.
• Paola Egonu firing: The star opposite hitter notched 20 points against both Slovakia and France, demonstrating she's fully recovered from an extended rest period.
• Round-of-16 draw: Italy could face Ukraine, Bulgaria, or Austria—potential fourth-place finishers—though opponents have not yet been officially confirmed.
Velasco's Strategy: Rest Key Players, Still Dominate
Against Slovakia in their fourth group match, Velasco rotated his lineup heavily, benching rising star Ekaterina Antropova and setter Ilaria Fersino entirely. The revised starting six—featuring the diagonal pairing of Paola Egonu and Alessia Orro, outside hitters Myriam Sylla and Loveth Omoruyi (Nervini), middle blockers Anna Danesi and Sarah Fahr, and libero Ilaria Spirito—still dispatched the Slovaks 3-0 in just 75 minutes, with set scores of 25-19, 25-18, 25-20.
The absence of Antropova, who has Russian heritage and was integrated into the Italian system as a naturalized player, did little to blunt the offensive firepower. Egonu led all scorers with 20 points, while Sylla added 12 and Fahr chipped in with 10. Post-match, Velasco was unconcerned about Egonu's serving struggles—she committed several service errors—attributing them to match rhythm after her extended break. "Paola rested for two months and needs game time to find her timing," the coach told Sky Sport Italia. "She's struggling a bit on serve, but if she fixes that now, we're in great shape. She's functioning well at the block. I told her: 'You need to get in more, be more aggressive,' and she's succeeding."
The French Challenge: First Set Lost, Lessons Learned
Italy entered the decisive Pool D finale against France with both teams unbeaten: the azzurre with a perfect record and zero sets dropped; the French also remaining undefeated with a match still pending against Sweden. The encounter, played at Göteborg's Scandinavium arena, would determine not only pool supremacy but also the round-of-16 matchup.
The opening set mirrored Italy's earlier dominance, with Velasco's squad controlling tempo and closing out decisively. But the second set brought a surprise: France elevated their game across all fundamentals—serving, blocking, and transition offense—while Italy lost cohesion. The azzurre stalled, surrendering the frame and conceding their first set of the championship.
The third set became the pivot. France surged ahead, threatening to seize momentum. A disputed referee's decision sparked a comeback. The azzurre minimized unforced errors, improved blocking quality, and sharpened their attacks to squeeze out a victory. That frame broke French morale. In the fourth, Italy weathered a pair of mini-runs from their opponents, then pulled away to close with authority after nearly two hours on court.
Egonu again topped the scoring charts with 20 points, supported by Antropova (12), Fahr (10), and Sylla (9). The head-to-head record now stands at nine wins from nine European Championship meetings for Italy, part of an overall 46-11 advantage in 58 all-time encounters.
What This Means for Italian Volleyball
Italy's perfect group stage—15 points from five matches, with 15 sets won and only one dropped—positions the national team as the overwhelming favorite to reach the final in Istanbul on September 6. More significantly, it reinforces the structural strength of Italian women's volleyball following an unprecedented trophy haul: the Volleyball Nations League title in June 2024, Olympic gold at Paris 2024 in August, and the World Championship crown in Thailand in September 2025.
That sequence made Italy the first nation in history to hold all three major titles simultaneously—a distinction that resonates deeply across Italy, where volleyball commands passionate followings and reflects national pride in sporting achievement. The success has galvanized Italian fans and elevated the team's status among the country's sporting elite.
For fans and federation officials in Italy, the stakes at these Euros go beyond silverware. Velasco, who returned to the Italian bench in 2024 after decades coaching abroad, has built a system that blends raw talent—exemplified by Egonu, the world's top-ranked player—with tactical discipline and mental resilience. The integration of Antropova, initially deployed as an opposite hitter but increasingly used as an outside hitter to coexist with Egonu, has added depth and unpredictability.
Coach's Perspective: Embracing Adversity
Velasco's post-match comments revealed a coach who values struggle over steamrolling opponents. "Today I liked the team—they gave answers," he said after the France match. "The girls didn't stand around talking; they played ball by ball, reacting in the right way every time. That's important, even if some didn't perform at their usual level. There was the right humility, the same humility that allowed us to achieve certain goals over the past two years: facing things as they are, not as we expected them to be."
He admitted surprise at France's elevated performance—"They played much better than I anticipated, but we managed to do our part"—and welcomed the adversity. "I liked suffering, because arriving at do-or-die matches after only playing easy games is never positive," Velasco remarked. The implication: Italy needs competitive friction to stay sharp for the knockout rounds, where margins shrink and concentration lapses become costly.
Road Ahead: Round of 16 and Beyond
The round-of-16 draw will be finalized once all group matches conclude. Italy will face a fourth-place finisher from Pool B, with Ukraine, Bulgaria, or Austria among the possibilities. That match is tentatively scheduled for the coming weekend in Brno, a city in the eastern Czech Republic that is co-hosting the latter stages alongside Istanbul.
Historically, none of those potential opponents pose a serious threat to a side that has lost just one set in five European matches and boasts the reigning Olympic and world champions. Barring a monumental upset, Italy should advance to the quarterfinals, where the competition stiffens with contenders such as Turkey, Serbia, or Poland potentially waiting.
For now, the azzurre have earned a brief respite—time to rest, review video, and fine-tune tactics before the knockout phase begins. The ultimate goal remains clear: add a European Championship title to the trophy cabinet, cementing Italy's dominance in women's volleyball and building upon their achievement of holding all major international titles simultaneously under Velasco's leadership.
