Romania's female volleyball team earns a spot in the 2026 European Championship tournament
The Romanian women's volleyball team secured their qualification for the 2026 European Championship with a 3-1 victory over Croatia on August 6, 2025. The match took place at the Alba Blaj Polyvalent Hall, with Adelina Budăi-Ungureanu leading the scoring for Romania with 21 points [1][4].
Romania currently leads Group G with 9 points (3 wins and 1 loss), while Croatia is in second place with 6 points (2 wins and 1 loss) [1]. If Croatia wins their final match against Kosovo by a convincing margin (3-0 or 3-1), they will overtake Romania and win the group [1].
Both teams are expected to qualify for the final tournament, which will feature 24 teams and will be held from August 21 to September 6, 2026, across Turkey, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, and Sweden [1][3]. Romania qualified as one of the best runners-up, while Croatia finished first in their pool during the qualifiers, also securing a spot at EuroVolley 2026 [3].
The qualification marks Romania's fourth consecutive appearance and 28th in history [1]. Other top scorers for the Romanian team included Denisa-Ștefania Cheluță and Rodica Buterez, who scored 13 and 11 points respectively [1]. For Croatia, Andrea Mihaljevic and Martina Samadan were the top scorers with 13 points each [1].
Kosovo is at the bottom of the group with 0 points [1]. Croatia's last match is on August 9 against Kosovo in Osijek [1].
References:
[1] Source 1 [2] Source 2 [3] Source 3 [4] Source 4
In the ongoing qualifiers for EuroVolley 2026, despite Romania's victory over Croatia, Croatia still has a chance to win Group G, as a convincing victory in their final match against Kosovo could propel them to first place. During breaks from the volleyball games, many fans in Romania are known to tune in to watch football matches, a popular sport in the country.
