England U20 team show strong progress in Global Challenge 2026 Maribor

The team took part in the Global Challenge 2026 held in the Draš Center in Slovenia, where they faced international competition from the USA, Qatar, Slovenia and more.

England National would carve a path as far as the quarter-finals, showing consistency and sound mentality throughout the tournament as well as cohesion and preparation off court.

Head Coach Sam Shenton - who is also head coach for Newcastle Knights - saw a lot of positives in the team’s performance. 

“It was a fantastic week at the Global Challenge in Maribor, Slovenia and exactly the type of competition we were looking for,” he said.

“We were challenged throughout the tournament, competed at a very high level, while still being able to develop key areas of our systems. It also gave every player valuable international experience against strong opposition.”

The squad would narrowly miss out on victory in their opening matches, losing 2-1 to North California VA U17 (25-22 / 36-34 / 10-15) and USA based team Pinnacle (25-16 / 23-25 / 15-10) to close out day one, before similar close losses would follow against USA team Champions United (25-17 / 25-15 / 14-16) and NCVA U19 (25-18 / 20-25 / 12-15). 

While the team would’ve enjoyed a victory on paper, their ability to take sets off of each of their opponents would book them a spot in the knockout stages, finishing 3rd in group and displaying their strong mentality to keep pushing for results. 

Shenton seemed to echo this sentiment when talking about time spent off the court.

“The time together was just as important off the court. It allowed us to train, review video and continue our preparations for international competition in October, while helping the players transition back into the indoor season after the summer break.

“There was clear progress across the week and plenty of positives to build on.”

The England squad would have their knockout journey ended by NCVA U19, in a nail-biting 2-1 match (25-22 / 21-25 / 16-14), before Pinnacle edged out a 2-0 winner over the squad in a similarly tight contest (25-20 / 25-17) to beat them to 5th place. 

“We leave Maribor with valuable experience, greater confidence and plenty to build on as we look ahead to October,” said Shenton.

“A huge thank you to Bring It Promotions for organising such an outstanding event. The facilities were excellent and the entire team went above and beyond to ensure everything ran smoothly throughout the week.

“A special thank you also goes to the backroom staff at Volleyball England for making sure the week ran seamlessly. From the planning and logistics to the day to day support of the players and staff, their hard work allowed the group to focus entirely on performing and making the most of the experience.”

Find out more about the National Teams pathway by clicking here.