Our Red Dragons left the European Championships in Italy with their heads held high: with strong defence from the second set onwards, they snatched a set from superpower Poland before bowing their heads 1-3 to the world number one in their eighth final.

From the first point, Poland dictated the law with its star team: Thys, Deroo and Desmet were immediately introduced to the red-whites' phenomenal blocking power. Initially only Ferre Reggers scored, halfway through the first set he was supported by Mathijs Desmet. This did not prevent the Poles from systematically gaining ground: 5-10, 8-12, 16-25.

In set two, the Poles put up even higher walls if possible. Only after 0-5 could Stijn D'Hulst successfully put Wout D'Heer and Elias Thys in position in the middle for the first time: 6-8. Sam Deroo scored his first block point and so we clung on until 11-13. A heavy serve from Kochanowski dashed our hopes: 13-19. Substitute Jolan Cox still helped us to 17-25.

In set three, too, there was initially no stopping the Polish crushing roller. But after an early 1-5, we fought back to 9-9 under the impetus of Mathijs Desmet. Martin Perin and Jelle Ribbens increasingly got a grip on the Polish service and we took the lead for the first time at 13-12. We even caught the contribution of Kurek, MVP of the 2018 world championship team: Desmet blocked to 19-17, D'Heer and Reggers kept us ahead until 24-22. Standout Desmet pummelled the 25-23 on the board.

Through 4-8 in set four, the Poles imagined themselves in a seat again. Twice we had to correct a wrong decision by the ref via a video challenge. Just as well, because fine serving by Sam Deroo brought us all alongside at 10-10. Naturalised Cuban Leon came off the bench and he proved to be a talisman. His first serve turned through the net edge into a very 'lucky' ace: 16-19. Not to worry, as Deroo, Cox and Desmet almost drove the Poles to despair at 21-20. Alas, with three points in a row, the Polish block finally had the last word: 22-25.

The elimination was a fact, but our Red Dragons had really put the heat on Poland.
Final score Poland - Belgium: 3-1 (25-16, 25-17, 23-25, 25-22)