Greece Return to Men's Volleyball World Cup for First Time Since 2006

By Taki Panos

Twenty-one years is a long time to wait by the mailbox. On Monday, October 19, 2026, the letter finally came. Greece's men's volleyball team will play at the 2027 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Cup in Poland, the tournament that until this year was called the World Championship, after the FIVB published the complete 32-team field. Gazzetta and SDNA both called it a historic return, and they are right: the national team has not played on the sport's biggest stage since Japan in 2006.

A quick explainer for football and basketball fans. The FIVB, volleyball's world governing body, renamed its flagship event the World Cup earlier this year, and Poland 2027 is the first edition under the new name, as Sport24 and the tournament's Wikipedia entry both note. It now has 32 teams instead of 24, per Sport24. Greece earned their place through the world ranking, which handed the last 15 spots to the best-ranked teams not already in as of October 16, 2026, according to the FIVB.

The numbers tell the story. Greece finished the national team season 21st in the FIVB World Ranking with 166.64 points, Gazzetta and the Bulgarian outlet Volleyweek reported, which made them eighth of the 15 teams that qualified on ranking. Bulgaria, ninth in the world, led that group, followed by Germany, Ukraine, Belgium, Türkiye, Serbia and Czechia. Behind Greece came Romania, the Netherlands, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Denmark, Egypt and Estonia, the last team in at 31st, per the FIVB and Volleyweek. Romania finished just 3.63 points back.

Those points were earned at EuroVolley 2026 in September, where Greece finished 11th, per Gazzetta and Sport24. Playing in Group A at the PalaPanini in Modena, Kostas Christofidelis's side closed the group with three straight wins, the last a 3-1 over Slovakia on September 17, as Ta Nea and Sportlive reported. That left Greece third in the group behind Italy and Slovenia, according to Sportlive and the Albanian outlet 24 Ore, and sent them to Turin for the knockout rounds. Every win mattered.

The round of 16 against co-hosts Finland at the Palavela still stings a little. Greece won the first set 25-22 and the third 25-22 to lead 2-1, but Finland took the fourth 25-23 and the tie-break 15-13, as WorldofVolley and VolleyTimes reported. Angelos Markou led Greece with 20 points, per WorldofVolley, while VolleyTimes singled out Alexandros Raptis for eight kills at 80 percent in the third set. A win would have meant a quarterfinal against world champions Italy. It was that close.

Christofidelis spoke with a mix of hurt and pride. "Certainly there is sadness, but not disappointment. There should not be disappointment," he said (translated from Greek), per ERT Sports and Volleynews. He admitted he felt Greece deserved to go through, then added: "In any case, I feel only pride for our athletes. With a future ahead of us with even more competitions, the picture we presented here can only give us optimism" (translated from Greek), per ERT Sports. A month later, the ranking table gave him his answer.

Greece's history at this event is short but proud. Poland will be the sixth appearance, after 1986, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006, according to Sport24 and Wikipedia's tournament records. Sport24 lists the finishes as 13th in 1986, sixth in 1994, 13th in 1998, seventh in 2002 and 17th in 2006. The best of them came at home. Greece hosted the 1994 World Championship, with matches at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus and the Alexandreio Melathron in Thessaloniki, and finished sixth as Italy took the title, per Wikipedia and Italy's federation FIPAV.

The years since have been lean. Greece missed the 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2025 editions, VolleyTimes and Volleyweek pointed out, so a whole generation of Greek players grew up watching the event on television. The 2027 field has one notable absence: Russia, whose federation told the FIVB it would voluntarily sit out, according to VolleyTimes and Volleyweek. Estonia will make their debut, and Denmark return 61 years after their only previous appearance in 1966, per the FIVB and Volleyweek.

The tournament runs from September 10 to 26, 2027, per Sport24 and the tournament's Wikipedia entry. The 32 teams will be split into eight groups of four, with the top two in each group moving into a knockout bracket that starts at the round of 16, according to the FIVB and Tuttosport. The FIVB says games will be played at the ERGO ARENA in Gdańsk, the Spodek in Katowice, Atlas Arena in Łódź and Urania Hall in Olsztyn, before the semifinals and medal matches move to the TAURON Arena in Kraków.

The field is serious. Italy arrive as two-time defending champions after winning in 2022 and again in the Philippines in 2025, and hosts Poland have lifted the trophy three times, in 1974, 2014 and 2018, the FIVB noted. Brazil, the United States, Japan, France and Iran are in too. There is an extra prize on the table. According to the FIVB, the World Cup will be one of the final routes to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, with places for the three best-ranked teams that have not yet qualified.

For Greek volleyball, the timing is good. The club season is under way, and the women's league has already served up drama, like Olympiacos saving three match points to win on Santorini. A World Cup ticket gives the national team something concrete to sell to young players, sponsors and fans. It also gives Markou, Raptis and the rest a target worth planning a season around.

My take: this is a reward for patience and for a team that kept showing up. Greece will not land in Poland as favorites, and the draw could easily put a giant in their group. But getting out of a group of four is a realistic target, and simply being there matters for the next generation. Ranking routes can feel like paperwork. This one was earned on the court, set by set.

Up next is the draw for the group stage, and the FIVB says its details will be confirmed in due course, so we will have to wait to learn Greece's opponents. Until then, keep an eye on our Greek Sports section for more from the national teams. Poland, here we come.

Sources: FIVB, Gazzetta, SDNA, Sport24, Volleyweek, VolleyTimes, WorldofVolley, ERT Sports, Volleynews, Sportlive, Ta Nea, 24 Ore, Tuttosport, FIPAV, Wikipedia.

Image: Flag of Greece, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).