Six volleyball players from the French national team will miss the 2026 international season and two top national team tournaments: the Nations League and the European Championship. This was reported by sports insider Jakub Balcerzak, citing sources in L'Équipe.
The last triumphant season for the French volleyball team was 2024, when the team combined the titles of the League of Nations and the Olympics in Paris. At the same time, in the 2025 season, France failed to reach the podium of any of the top tournaments: they were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the League of Nations and did not even make it out of the group at the World Championship.
Suspilne Sport is the official broadcaster of the Men's Volleyball Nations League. Watch the Nations League matches on the Suspilne Sport website and TV channel, as well as on Suspilne's local channels.
In the 2026 season, Andrea Gianni's team will try to return to the top tournament podium. Two championships are a possibility for this: the Nations League and the European Championship. However, as insider Jakub Balcerzhak reports with reference to L'Équipe, the French team will face a significant change in the composition compared to the one that triumphed in Paris 2024 – six Olympic champions will be out of the application.
Who will not play for the French national team?
- players Erwin N'Gapet (without club), Yassin Luati (“Resovia”, Poland) and Kevin Thieu (“Project Warsaw”, Poland)
- Diagonal striker Barthelemy Shinenzie (Fenerbahce, Turkey)
- central blocker Nicolas Le Goff (Volley Montpellier, France)
- Libero Zhenya Grebennikov (“Zenit”, Russia)
In addition, two-time Olympic champion Benjamin Toniutti, who has retired from international football after 16 years with the French national team, will not play for the team. It is also unknown whether Jean Patry will play, as he may need time after the end of the club season to recover from injuries. However, other leaders of the French national team have already declared their readiness to be included in the squad: Trevor Clevenot, Antoine Brizard and Theo Faure.