The Netherlands, fielding four Olympians in their lineup, showcased an exceptionally strong performance on the opening day of the 2025 CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup Finals in Espinho. The Dutch men`s team achieved a flawless record, securing four impressive victories on Thursday.
Joining the Dutch in their undefeated start at Praia da Baía were the teams from Norway, who also triumphed in their first two matches of the event. Pool play will wrap up on Friday in Portugal, paving the way for the thrilling elimination rounds over the weekend. The quarterfinals are set for Saturday, with the semifinals and the highly anticipated gold medal match scheduled for Sunday.
Introduced to the European beach volleyball calendar in 2022, the Beach Nations Cup is an innovative “country versus country” competition, drawing parallels to the format of tennis`s prestigious Davis Cup.
Pool A Dominance and Key Matches
In Pool A, four duels were completed on Thursday, and the Netherlands stood out as the only nation to remain undefeated. Their initial challenge was against Lithuania. Alexander Brouwer and Steven van de Velde secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory (25-27, 21-10, 17-15) over Robert Juchnevic and Artur Vasiljev. Following this, Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot delivered a dominant straight-sets sweep (21-17, 21-15) against Arnas Rumsevicius and Karolis Palubinskas.
Just hours later, the Netherlands continued their winning streak against Spain, once again without dropping a set. Brouwer and van de Velde efficiently defeated Álvaro Vieira and Antonio Saucedo in straight sets (21-12, 25-23), while Boermans and de Groot similarly overcame Alejandro Huerta and Javier Huerta in two sets (21-14, 23-21).
Before their encounter with the Dutch, the Spanish team had already secured a significant victory by defeating defending champions France. Vieira and Saucedo earned Spain`s first win by beating Kéran Duval and Calvin Aye in two sets (21-18, 27-25). The Huerta brothers then sealed the tie by downing Téo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat in a gripping tie-breaker (21-19, 17-21, 16-14).
Later, France and Lithuania split their matches. Juchnevic and Artur Vasiljev secured a two-set win (21-19, 21-15) for Lithuania against Duval and Aye, while Rotar and Gauthier-Rat retaliated for the French squad with a two-set victory (21-12, 21-14) over Rumsevicius and Palubinskas.
Pool B Action: Norway`s Perfect Start
In Pool B, only two duels were contested in Espinho on Thursday. Norway concluded the day without a defeat after prevailing over Austria. The `Beach Volley Vikings` duo of Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen won a tough match against Julian Hörl and Philipp Waller 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-10). Subsequently, the celebrated superstars Anders Mol and Christian Sørum delivered a comprehensive straight-sets victory (21-12, 21-14) over Tim Berger and Timo Hammarberg.
The other Pool B encounter concluded with an even split, as hosts Portugal and Denmark each secured one victory. The Danish team was first to celebrate, with Nicolai Hovmann and Christian Andersen defeating brothers Gonçalo and Tomas Sousa in straight sets (21-10, 21-16). However, Hugo Campos and João Pedrosa leveled the score for the home team by triumphing over Mads Møllgaard and Kristoffer Abell in a tie-breaker (17-21, 21-11, 15-9).
