Finland produced one of the most stunning upsets in recent European volleyball history on Tuesday night, eliminating hosts and reigning world champions Italy 3-2 (21-25, 28-26, 25-16, 20-25, 15-13) in the EuroVolley 2026 quarterfinals at a packed PalaVela in Turin. It was Finland's first victory over Italy in 48 years in senior men's volleyball.
More than 8,000 spectators came expecting another chapter in Italy's tradition of success at the European Championship. Instead, they witnessed a Finnish side refuse to accept defeat even after trailing 8-11 in the deciding fifth set, overturning the deficit to win 15-13 and reach the semifinals for only the second time in their history — matching the achievement of the 2007 generation.
Italy started brightly. Mattia Bottolo scored the first point and the hosts built an early lead that carried them to a 25-21 first-set win, with Yuri Romano finishing with a match-high 20 points. But Finland's Joonas Jokela shifted the momentum in the second, hammering 10 points in the set alone. Italy clawed back from 12-14 to take a 15-14 lead, but Finland held their nerve in extra points, Nooa Marttila delivering the decisive attack for 28-26.
The third set was Finland at their devastating best. Jokela and Luka Marttila led a blitz to 10-3, and the visitors never looked back. Italian serve errors plagued the hosts — several balls failed to clear the net — and Finland closed out the set 25-16, leaving Italy staring at elimination.
The world champions rallied in the fourth. Alessandro Michieletto returned to court as Italy built a 5-2 lead, Lavia scored key points and Sanguinetti served an ace to help the hosts to a 25-20 win and force a decider. The hosts started the fifth set strongly, moving 5-2 and then 11-8 ahead. But Finland simply refused to accept that their story was over. Luka Marttila — who finished with a team-high 22 points, including a crucial ace at 12-12 — and Jokela kept attacking, while the Finnish defence threw itself at everything Italy sent across the net.
The gap disappeared point by point. Finland levelled at 13-13, then took match point. An attack error from Yuri Romano sealed the deal at 15-13, and the Finnish bench erupted.
Italy head coach Ferdinando De Giorgi did not search for excuses. "We have to recognise Finland's merits. We managed to get the match back on track and when we had to deliver the final blow, we failed," he said. Captain Simone Giannelli added: "We simply couldn't play a match at the right level. It's not about a wrong attitude. We give credit to Finland. We made too many technical errors."
The defeat brings an early end to Italy's tournament run. The world number twos had been flawless in the group stage, including a 3-0 win over Denmark in the round of 16, but crumbled under pressure after leading in the fifth set. They were aiming for a 15th EuroVolley semifinal and a third consecutive final-four appearance.
Finland will face Olympic champions France — coached by Italian legend Andrea Giani — in the semifinals on September 25 in Milan.
Sources
https://italytelegraph.com/posts/italy-crashes-out-of-eurovolley-to-finland-in-turin-quarter-final-upset https://tg24.sky.it/sport/2026/09/23/europei-volley-maschile-italia-finlandia-risultato
