Norway and the Netherlands have secured the initial spots in the men`s semifinals at the 2025 CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup Finals, held in Espinho. Both nations are now just two victories shy of clinching the coveted tournament title.
Norway made it through pool play with an undefeated campaign of six victories.
Men`s pool play concluded on Friday at Praia da Baía, with Norway and the Netherlands dominating their respective groups to earn direct qualification for the semifinals. The four teams finishing second and third in their pools will compete in Saturday`s quarterfinals to determine the remaining semifinalists.
Quarterfinal matchups are set: Spain will face Portugal, and Austria will play Lithuania. The victors of these matches will advance to Sunday`s semifinals to challenge Norway and the Netherlands. The championship match for the gold medal is also scheduled for Sunday.
Norway`s Dominant Run
Building on their two victories against Austria from Thursday, the Norwegian teams maintained exceptional performance on Friday, securing four additional wins to claim the top position in Pool B. Their initial opponents were Denmark, whom the `Beach Volley Vikings` overcame with impressive displays. Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen narrowly defeated Nicolai Hovmann and Christian Andersen in a tight three-setter (21-19, 23-25, 15-11), while Anders Mol and Christian Sørum delivered a dominant straight-sets victory (21-13, 21-10) over Mads Møllgaard and Kristoffer Abell.
Later in the day, Norway squared off against the host nation, Portugal, securing two more crucial wins to cement their first-place standing in the pool. Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen initiated their team`s success with a swift two-set victory (21-15, 21-11) against brothers Gonçalo and Tomas Sousa. Anders Mol and Christian Sørum then sealed the deal by also winning in straight sets (25-23, 21-16) against Hugo Campos and João Pedrosa.
Norway finished Pool B at the top with a perfect 12 points, followed by Austria (nine points), Portugal (eight points), and Denmark (seven points).
Netherlands Completes Flawless Pool Campaign
Meanwhile, in Pool A, the Netherlands concluded their impeccable pool stage run with decisive victories over pairs from reigning champions France on Friday. Their dominant performance followed earlier triumphs against Lithuania and Spain on Thursday, marking a perfect start to their campaign in Espinho.
Olympic medalist Alexander Brouwer, alongside his partner Steve van de Velde, decisively defeated Kéran Duval and Calvin Aye in straight sets (21-14, 21-8) during their opening match. Subsequently, Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot ensured a clean sweep for the day, overcoming Téo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat with a convincing 2-0 victory (23-21, 21-16).
Amassing a total of 12 points, the Netherlands secured the top position in Pool A. Spain placed second with nine points, while Lithuania advanced in third with eight points. France, with seven points, was eliminated from the competition.
The Beach Nations Cup, an exciting `country versus country` team competition akin to tennis`s Davis Cup, was first introduced into the European beach volleyball calendar in 2022.
