Brazil have 98 victories in the World Championship so far, they can win their 99th against Bulgaria
Lausanne, Switzerland, September 10, 2014 – Sixteen teams are left but the competition just keeps on getting better, with the intense matchups in the second round of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship which will launch on Wednesday.
Pool E consists of Argentina, France Australia, Iran in Bydgoszcz; Serbia, Italy, hosts Poland, USA in Lodz. In Pool F, Finland, Russia, Cuba, Canada will face each other in Wroclaw; awhile Brazil, Bulgaria, Germany and China will play in Katowice.
Brazil are two wins away from their 100th World Championship triumph. The defending champions are aiming for their fourth but have achieved several team records along the way.
Serbians are a force on the four – Serbia have won four of their five matches with Italy in the World Championship. Serbia have also won their last four matches in the tournament after losing the first match of the tournament in straight sets against hosts Poland. Serbia adversaries Italy will try their best to play without star Ivan Zaytsev who suffered an injury in their last match, to finish fourth in Pool D in the first round.
France’s weapons on offence and
defence – French attacker Antonin Rouzier finished the first round as
the leading scorer in the competition with 97 points from 91 spikes, two
blocks and four aces. His team-mate Jenia Grebennikov finished the
first round as the most prolific digger, averaging 4.67 per set. These
players contribution to the team will be key when they face Argentina
for the fifth time in the World Championship. This match will be a
decider on their draw on victories; they have two wins each.
Reinstatement
of 28-year Poland-USA rivalry – Poland and USA have met five times at
the World Championship. Poland won the first four, while USA won the
last one in straight sets in 1986. Poland finished on top of Pool A with
a maximum 15 points, while USA finished third in Pool D.
Asian Confederation rivalry continues in the world stage - Australia and Iran are the strongest among Asian sides. These teams have never met though at the World Championship. Iran reached the second round by finishing second in Pool D, winning four of their five matches, including their last two. Australia reached the second round by finishing fourth in Pool A, defeating Cameroon and Venezuela.
Brazil two wins away from the century mark – Brazil can record their 99th victory if they win their match against Bulgaria. These two teams have met 12 times at the World Championship, with Brazil gaining advantage over Bulgaria in victories 7-5. In these meetings, Brazil have either won 3-0 or 3-1.
Russian team’s best run – Russia have won all five matches in the first round of the World Championship and are on an eight-match winning streak in the competition. The only time Russia were defeated by Finland was at the World League 2010.
China’s losing streak against European sides – China are on a nine-match losing streak at the World championship against European sides. China recorded three straight set wins at the World Championship against teams from Germany – West Germany in 1966 and East Germany in 1978, but have yet to play a match against unified Germany.
Clash of the NORCECA sides - Cuba won their only previous world championship meeting with Canada 3-1 in 1998, but their most recent meeting was in the semifinal of the 2013 NORCECA Championship with Canada winning 3-0.