European Beach Volleyball Championship Draw Sets Up Fiery Test for Portuguese Duo

Four-time national champions João Pedrosa and Hugo Campos are set to face Olympic and World champions, the Swedish duo David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig, in the group stage of the 2026 European Championship, scheduled to take place in Poland from August 12 to 16.

The draw, held in Warsaw by the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV), placed the Portuguese pair in Pool B. Their opening match will be against the formidable Swedes, who are considered the clear favorites of the group and one of the most dominant duos in the sport globally.

In addition to the Nordic powerhouse, Pedrosa and Campos' group also includes the Swiss pair Friedl/Jordan and the Israeli team Elazar/Cuzmiciov.

The Swiss duo, Julian Friedli and Jonathan Jordan, formed their partnership this year and have already competed for the bronze medal at the BPT Challenge in Nuvali, Philippines. Meanwhile, Israelis Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov are their country's top pair, having already secured a gold medal at this year's Xiamen Challenge in China, following bronze finishes in India and Mexico.

The European Championship, hosted in the Polish city of Stare Jabłonki, the venue for the 2013 World Championship, will bring together the elite of the sport, featuring teams from 19 countries and all the medalists from the last World Championship.

"We always play to win"

Reacting to the draw, national coach Ricardo Rocha criticized the competition format but assured maximum ambition from the Portuguese team.

"The fact that the format isn't round-robin but rather modified pool play means we face the current Olympic champions in the very first game. In my opinion, this format doesn't make much sense for a European Championship final phase," the coach stated.

In a round-robin system, every team or athlete plays against all other participants in their group or competition. In contrast, modified pool play is an adaptation of the round-robin format designed to reduce the number of matches, with only a few pre-defined games taking place.

Despite the challenge, Ricardo Rocha guarantees that preparation will be optimal. "It will be a very difficult task to overcome, but we will prepare in the best possible way and try every means to win," he emphasized, adding: "We always go into any game, against any opponent, to win – and this European Championship will be no different."

The coach also highlighted Portugal's merit in being among Europe's best teams for the third consecutive year, amidst increasing competitiveness. "All teams qualified this year with more points than in the previous edition, which clearly demonstrates that the level of this Olympic cycle has risen compared to the last," he concluded.

The beach volleyball tournament in Stare Jabłonki, Poland, promises to be a highlight of the sport, bringing together a constellation of stars and top duos. The men's competition will feature world champions, European champions, and Olympic medalists, guaranteeing a high-level spectacle.

The Swedish duo of Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson leads the list of top seeds. Immediately following in the top 3 are Norway's Anders Mol and Christian Sørum, five-time EuroBeachVolley champions and current titleholders. The competition will also feature France's Téo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat, bronze medalists at last year's World Championship, and Latvia's Mārtiņš Pļaviņš and Kristians Fokerots, recent Nations Cup winners and 2024 European champions.

For Alexander Brouwer, returning to Stare Jabłonki holds special significance. It was in this Polish town that the Dutch athlete, alongside his former partner Robert Meeuwsen, clinched a surprising world title that propelled his career. Currently, Brouwer partners with Stefan Boermans, an imposing 2.04-meter blocker.

Host nation Poland will be strongly represented with five men's teams. Among their athletes are established names like Bartosz Łosiak and Piotr Kantor, who won bronze in 2021 and now compete with new partners, Michał Bryl and Filip Lejawa, respectively.

The entry list includes other prominent names, such as Germany's Nils Ehlers, an Olympic silver medalist, who now plays with the young Lui Wüst. Interestingly, the 2023 world champions, Czechs Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner, will also be present, although they no longer compete together. Poland has the largest representation (five pairs), followed by France, Austria, Germany, Czechia, and Switzerland, each with three pairs.