Men's European Championship: Italy Stronger Than Sweden and the Rain

The 2026 Men's European Championship kicked off with a grand celebration in Naples' Piazza del Plebiscito. Rain shortly before the start delayed the match by 30 minutes.

Despite the weather, 6,000 spectators witnessed the Italian men's national team secure a 3-0 victory against Sweden (25-22, 25-21, 25-17). The event featured a performance by Planet Funk and was attended by notable figures, including the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, ministers, and sports officials.

As predicted, Italy, led by coach Ferdinando De Giorgi, dominated their opening match against Sweden, who showed good overall quality under coach Gido Vermeulen. Captain Giannelli orchestrated Italy's play, distributing the ball effectively to his attackers. Italy displayed good teamwork and solid performance.

Italy will travel to Modena for Pool A and will play their next match on Saturday, September 12th, against Greece at 9:05 PM. The match will be broadcast live on Rai2, Sky Sport Arena, DAZN, and available for streaming on NOW, eurovolley.tv, and rainews.it.

Italy's starting lineup featured Giannelli at setter, Romanò as opposite, Lavia and Bottolo as outside hitters, Galassi and Sanguinetti as middle blockers, and Balaso as libero. Sweden's starting lineup included Ekstrand, Brink, Johansson, Enlund, Link, Ekman, and libero Andersson.

The first set began with Italy taking an early lead, but Sweden fought back. Italy maintained control, with Bottolo's block extending their lead to 22-17. After a 30-minute rain delay, play resumed, and Italy closed the set 25-22 with a final point from Galassi. This set lasted 63 minutes including the interruption.

The second set started evenly, but Romanò sparked Italy to a 7-5 lead. Sweden managed to equalize and even take a slight lead, prompting coach De Giorgi to call a timeout. Bottolo's ace regained the lead for Italy, and they extended it to 17-15. Despite Sweden's attempts to catch up, Italy pulled ahead again with Sanguinetti and Giannelli's ace, ultimately winning the set 25-21.

Between the second and third sets, Planet Funk performed again.

Italy started the third set strongly, establishing a 7-2 lead. The set proceeded smoothly, with Alessandro Michieletto making his tournament debut at 20-16. Italy concluded the match with a 25-17 victory, with Lavia scoring the final point. The final score was Italy 3, Sweden 0.

After the match, President Sergio Mattarella came onto the court to congratulate the Italian team.