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Czech Republic and Portugal delivered a great match in the first fixture for the day in Pool C. After 110 minutes of play in the Sports Hall in Tartu (Estonia), the Portuguese players emerged victorious after a thrilling five-setter, full of nice rallies and many turnarounds. Highly motivated, none of the teams were giving up, fighting for each ball, with the third set becoming a nail-biting battle that finished at 39-37 in favour of Portugal. Overall, both Czechia and Portugal showed equal skills (11 blocks and 4 aces each), with the team of Jiri Novak being slightly better on attack. However, the greater number of errors by the Czech players affected the final score.  This is the first victory at the competition for the team around head coach Hugo Silva, who in the 2019 edition of the competition didn't participate. Czech Republic, on the other hand, are yet to record a victory, while in 2019 they finished on 8th place.

- The first set of the match set the tone for a great derby ahead. With 15 winnings spikes in this part, the players around Novak opened in their favour. 

- Czechia continued on outperforming the opponent on the attack in the next set. Oliver Sedlacek made it difficult for the Portuguese reception, while Lukas Vasina helped make a difference in the middle of the set with two aces. Portugal didn't give up and pushing on the block, tied the score. 

- A point-for-point race marked the next set up until the end and the game became more of a "game of nerves" since both Czechia and Portugal were giving it all on the field. Ivo Casas and his teammates could seize the opportunity and took the lead.

- Motivated to respond, Czechia came back in the next set but in the decisive tie-break some errors costed them the victory.

- Marco Evan Ferreira of Portugal topped the charts with 25 points, while for the Czech team, Vasina was the best with 24.