Polish Teams in Champions League Quarterfinals: Schedule & Key Players

The Warsaw team has provided fans with the most excitement of all the Polish teams in this edition of the Champions League. But the PGE Projekt players likely prefer the path of Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, which hasn’t faced any problems in Europe aside from their loss to Resovia. The Warsaw side, meanwhile, worried about advancing from the group stage until the very last match, then snatched a quarterfinal berth with a golden set in Trentino.

Now, the second-place team from the PlusLiga regular season will face the third, Bogdanka LUK Lublin. The two teams met in domestic competition just 16 days ago and the Polish champions emerged victorious. Lublin, however, has recently battled significant roster issues.

Now, their coach Stephane Antiga has more options. Whereas Kewin Sasak isn’t fully fit, the former Polish national team coach can finally utilize Mateusz Malinowski. Wilfredo Leon is dealing with a hand issue, but the key player for Bogdanka LUK is ready to play. On the Warsaw side, Bartosz Gomułka has been in strong form in recent weeks, and the 23-year-vintage attacker will face another major test.

Asseco Resovia is making the most of its wild card. The team, coached by Massimo Bottiego, easily advanced through the additional playoff round and secured a spot in the quarterfinals. This time, however, they will face a formidable opponent in Ziraat Bankasi Ankara, a team stacked with stars.

The Turkish side features two-time Olympic champion Trevor Clevenot, outstanding attacker Nimir Abdel-Aziz, but most notably, Tomasz Fornal. The outside hitter moved to Turkey at the start of this season and stated his goal was to win the Champions League, something he couldn’t achieve with JSW Jastrzębski Węgiel.

On Wednesday, Fornal will play in a Polish arena with his club for the first time since his overseas transfer. Ziraat’s preparations for the match in Rzeszów were disrupted by their recent league opponent, Akkus Belediyesi, which forfeited the match.

Resovia, meanwhile, had a successful warm-up against Ślepsk Malow Suwałki. Bottiego’s team can rely on Artur Szalpuk, who has been playing exceptionally well this season. The matchup between Szalpuk and Fornal adds another layer of intrigue, as both players are expected to be on the Polish national team roster soon.

Rounding out the quarterfinal matchups is the best team from the PlusLiga regular season and last year’s Champions League finalist, Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie. The team, led by Michał Winiarski, is in excellent form in 2026, a fact that wasn’t shaken by their recent five-set match against ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle – the coach treated it as an evaluation of the full squad.

Mateusz Bieniek, one of Zawiercie’s key players, was among those rested, and his performance will be crucial on Wednesday, along with Miguel Tavares and Bartosz Kwolek, the best servers on Warta. Zawiercie may be able to counter the serves of their opponents, Cucine Lube Civitanova, with their own strong serving game.