The Yellow Tigers also won their second match at the European Championship in Baku in convincing fashion. After their hard-fought five-set victory over Spain, Belgium defeated Portugal in straight sets. The Tigers gradually took control of each set and made the difference with their serving pressure and strong block-defence organisation. The set scores were 25-16, 25-21 and 25-11. Belgium will face Romania in their third pool match on Tuesday 25 August at 13:30.


Head coach Kris Vansnick started with the same seven players who opened the match against Spain. Portugal initially kept pace with Belgium, but a few Portuguese errors gave the Tigers their first lead. Following a Portuguese time-out at 8-5, their opponents fought back with pressure from the service line and moved ahead at 9-10.

Two kill blocks from Britt Fransen put Belgium back in front. Thanks to their strong block-defence organisation, the Tigers then found it increasingly easy to score breakpoints. The gap grew from 14-11 to 19-13. When Britt Herbots also began to make her power count at the net and from the service line, Belgium pulled further clear. The Tigers secured the opening set 25-16.

The second set also began evenly. The teams were still level at 5-5 before Belgium’s quality in attack and at the block helped the Tigers establish another three-point advantage. Portugal refused to let Belgium pull away, however, and restored parity at 10-10.

The Tigers then increased their serving pressure but continued to face strong Portuguese resistance. Substitute Anna Koulberg brought renewed energy to the Belgian side at 17-17. With Lara Nagels serving, Belgium produced an important run to move 21-17 ahead. Portugal saved the first set point at 24-20 through middle blocker Cassama, but Liese Verhelst finished the set moments later: 25-21.

Belgium made a flying start to the third set. A powerful attack from Herbots and an unstoppable Pauline Martin at the net immediately put the Tigers 4-0 ahead. Everything was working for Belgium, while Portugal struggled to find an answer to their high level of play. The score moved from 8-4 to 13-5, forcing the Portuguese head coach to call his second time-out of the set.

With Nagels at the service line, the gap increased to twelve points at 18-6. Belgium’s substitutes also made an immediate impact. Pauline Luyten served an ace for 20-9, while Flore Maes made the most of her opportunity by firing the ball onto the floor for 22-9. At 24-10, the Tigers had fourteen match points. Maes eventually sealed the victory at 25-11.

With two victories from as many matches, the Yellow Tigers have taken a major step towards the Round of 16. Belgium still has three pool matches remaining in which to secure the best possible starting position for the next stage of the tournament in Istanbul. After a rest day, the Tigers will face Romania on Tuesday 25 August at 13:30.

Post-match reactions

Pauline Martin, the match’s top scorer with sixteen points, was pleased with the team’s performance: “We managed to execute everything we wanted to do in the right way. That gave us a lot of confidence from the start. Our serving and defence worked really well, which allowed us to maintain our level throughout the entire match.”

Martin remained modest when asked about her individual performance: “I am just trying to help the team as much as I can. Right now, I am doing that by scoring points. I am really happy that I can contribute to the team in this way.”

Played for Belgium
Herbots (14), Lemmens (4), Radovic (7), Nagels (4), Martin (16), Fransen (6) and Rampelberg.

Came on
Van Sas, Koulberg (4), Verhelst (1), Luyten (1) and Maes (2).