The draw for the CEV EuroVolley 2026 Women, the 34th edition of Europe`s premier volleyball competition, recently took place amidst a magnificent ceremony at the historic Castello Normanno-Svevo in Bari. The event saw all 24 participating nations discover their opponents for the preliminary round, effectively setting the stage for an exciting journey towards claiming the coveted trophy. The drawing of lots itself promised several captivating matchups right from the initial stages of the tournament. As host nations, Türkiye, Czechia, Azerbaijan, and Sweden exercised their prerogative to select one opponent for their respective pools. Consequently, Türkiye chose Latvia, Austria was assigned to Pool B to face Czechia, Portugal will join Azerbaijan in Pool C, and Sweden opted to play Montenegro in Pool D.
Pool A, which will be hosted in Istanbul, is slated for thrilling encounters, notably including a rematch of a previous quarter-final between co-hosts Türkiye and Poland. Another significant fixture will be the clash between Poland and Germany, echoing their 2023 Round of 16 match where Poland secured a decisive 3-0 victory. Slovenia and Hungary complete the lineup for Pool A. Meanwhile, in Brno, Pool B will feature the CEV EuroVolley Women 2023 runners-up, Serbia, who are widely regarded as strong contenders to top their group. They will compete against co-hosts Czechia, Austria, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Greece. Czechia will also be looking to replicate their impressive 2023 performance, where they reached the quarter-finals before being eliminated by Serbia.
The Netherlands, who clinched bronze medals in the 2023 edition, will compete in Pool C alongside co-hosts Azerbaijan, Portugal, Belgium, Romania, and Spain. Having lost only a single match and conceded just four sets in the previous tournament, the Netherlands will undoubtedly be aiming for another dominant showing, though they anticipate facing stiff competition from their opponents. Reigning world and Olympic champions, Italy, currently on an impressive unbeaten streak spanning over a year, were drawn into Pool D. Here, they will face co-hosts Sweden, Montenegro, France, Slovakia, and Croatia. Italy previously swept France 3-0 in the quarter-finals of the last EuroVolley and will seek to continue their formidable run, which includes two recent major international gold medals, despite their fourth-place finish at the CEV EuroVolley 2023 Women. The structure of the tournament dictates that the top four teams from each pool will advance to the Round of 16, with the bottom two teams from each group being eliminated.
CEV EuroVolley 2026 – Preliminary Round Pools
- Pool A: Türkiye, Latvia, Poland, Germany, Slovenia, Hungary
- Pool B: Czechia, Austria, Serbia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Greece
- Pool C: Azerbaijan, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, Spain
- Pool D: Sweden, Montenegro, Italy, France, Slovakia, Croatia
