Michal Kubiak and Benjamin Toniutti agreed on that the game was important despite being already qualified
Lodz, Poland, September 14, 2014 - It wasn't about the qualification spot for neither Poland or France, as both teams underlined that they wanted to wrap up Pool E with a win in a game that host team coach Antiga described as "special".
France captain Benjamin Toniutti: "We have lost this game, but we had to win two sets to stay atop Pool E and we did it. We let to play other players to save our strength as we see how easy is to get injured - Russia have two opposites out of game, Brazil lost Wallace. This is another phase that we finish as leaders, so we want to continue our journey this way and repeat in the third round."
Poland captain Michal Kubiak: "Despite knowing before the match that we were qualified for the next round, we wanted to prove mostly to ourselves that we didn't get it thanks to someone else, but on our own way. We hoped to win three points, but we are still happy with the win. We are waiting for next week to see in probably the most important games of our season."
France coach Laurent Tillie: "I just want to say - happy, next round! It's just fantastic to play in Poland, the crowd was great again. We really wanted to win and prove we deserved our first place, so when Poland put too much pressure on us, I changed some players faster than I expected. Nevertheless we've reached our aim, so now we're waiting for what comes next."
Poland coach Stephane Antiga: "This was a special game and I'm satisfied with the victory. Today we could see some players on court who showed a very good level of volleyball. It was a real fight, we wanted to win it to have an easier situation before the drawing. Despite the victory, we end up this phase on the second position. Next round will be even harder, no matter who we will play with."