Cottafava/Dal Corso Ready for European Championship Debut

On Wednesday, August 12th, at 3:30 PM, Technical Director Paolo Nicolai's Italian team will take to the Polish sand to face the English twins Bello Jo./Bello Ja. in their opening match of Pool G. The group also includes hosts Łosiak/Bryl, seeded seventh, and the Swiss pair Dillier/Flückiger, who will compete in the other pool semi-final, also on Wednesday, August 12th, at 6:00 PM.

Samuele Cottafava and Gianluca Dal Corso have participated in seven tournaments in the 2026 season, including six Beach Pro Tour events and the Cev Nations Cup. In the BPT, the Italian duo competed in two Challenge events, in Nayarit (Mexico) and Alanya (Turkey), achieving a first and a third place. In the Elite16 tournaments in Saquarema, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Gstaad (Switzerland), their best result was ninth place. At the Cev Nations Cup in Budapest (Hungary), alongside teammates Marco Viscovich and Davide Borraccino, they secured a third-place podium finish.

This will be Samuele Cottafava's sixth appearance at a European Championship. He previously competed in Vienna 2021, Munich 2022, Vienna 2023, The Hague 2024, and Düsseldorf 2025, partnered with Windisch, Nicolai, Nicolai, Nicolai, and Ranghieri, respectively. For Gianluca Dal Corso, this marks his fourth appearance. His debut was in Vienna in 2021, partnered with Adrian Carambula, while in 2024 and 2025, he played with Marco Viscovich.

Notably, the continental championship in Poland carries significant weight, as the winning team in both the men's and women's tournaments will secure a direct spot in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Words from Technical Director Paolo Nicolai

"The build-up to the European Championships has been excellent, especially considering the journey that began last year and the challenges we've faced. This year, we've performed consistently in the Beach Pro Tour Challenge events, always playing for medal contention, and we've consistently reached the round of 16 in the Elite16. This is certainly a good sign of solidity. Obviously, in a competition like this, a step forward is required if we want to go further."

"Last year, we had to change our plans at the last minute for the European Championships in Germany due to Samuele's injury. This year, we arrive with more stability and are in the second tier. For us, an opportunity to compete is always important for growth; in competitions where a title is awarded, it's even more so."

"The opening match on Wednesday against England will be complex. They are slightly behind us in the rankings, but they defeated us in the semi-finals at the Alanya Challenge. We will have a good test right away. In a competition like this, starting immediately with high-level matches might seem like a disadvantage, but it's not, because it forces us to enter the tournament with immediate focus. We see it as an opportunity and want to play the second match of the pool as winners, not losers."

Match Schedule

12/08: Pool Play

13/08: Pool Play and Round of 32

14/08: Round of 16

15/08: Quarter-finals

16/08: Semi-finals and Finals

Pools

Pool A

Hölting Nilsson/Andersson, E (SWE)

Ehlers/Wüst (GER)

Perusic/Dzavoronok (CZE)

Horst/Dressler (AUT)

Pool B

Åhman/Hellvig (SWE)

Elazar/Cuzmiciov (ISR)

Friedli/Jordan (SUI)

Pedrosa/Campos (POR)

Pool C

Mol, A./Sørum, C. (NOR)

Chouikh/Genevieve-Gardoque (FRA)

Trousil/Schweiner (CZE)

Czachorowski/Krzeminski (POL)

Pool D

Plavins/Fokerots (LAT)

Waller/Pristauz (AUT)

Henning/Pfretzschner, L. (GER)

Tocs/Auziņš G. (LAT)

Pool E

Bassereau/Aye, C. (FRA)

Rotar/Gauthier-Rat (FRA)

Sepka/Sedlak (CZE)

Beta/Besarab (POL)

Pool F

Boermans/Brouwer (NED)

Mol, H./Berntsen (NOR)

Heidrich/Haussener (SUI)

Ciemachowski/Taudul (POL)

Pool G

Łosiak/Bryl (POL)

Cottafava/Dal Corso (ITA)

Bello, Ja./Bello, Jo. (ENG)

Dillier/Flückiger (SUI)

Pool H

Hammarberg/Berger T. (AUT)

Van de Velde/de Groot (NED)

Sagstetter, J./Winter (GER)

Kantor/Lejawa (POL)

Italian Staff

The Italian staff will consist of: Paolo Nicolai (Technical Director and Coach), Mariano Costa (Athletic Trainer), Manuela Vellecco (Physiotherapist).