All teams gear up as they play on Super Saturday at the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship
Lausanne, Switzerland, Poland, September 6, 2014 – The FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship will be in full swing as the complete number of teams play their matches on Saturday.
As Brazil, Poland and Russia have secured their spots in the second round, teams will strive to earn the maximum points to grab the remaining spots for the 16-team composition of the second round. The first qualified teams, however, will not let their guards down and still push for solid performances that will create or break their respective team records.
Argentina seek back-to-back match sweeps – After winning their last match with Cameroon in straight sets, Argentina will target another straight sets win against Australia to match their two consecutive match sweeps they set in 1990. This will be tough against Australia as the two have met in the World Championship in 2002, which ended in the favour of Argentina but with a 3-1 scoreline.
Venezuela bank on win-loss trend – Venezuela have started this World Championship with a defeat, a win and another defeat. In their match against Serbia, Venezuela would hope to continue the trend with a win as the first three matches went on as L-W-L. Serbia, on the other hand, have been performing steadily after their opening match loss to hosts Poland. The Serbians will count on their record advantage over Venezuela in the World League with a 3-1 match lead.
Poland go for maximum points, Cameroon for first points – Hosts Poland have maintained a perfect record through the three matches in the tournament, also with a perfect set record. Cameroon have not yet picked up a single point in this edition and will hope to win something in their first ever meeting with the Polish squad at the World Championship.
Cuban winning streak against Tunisia – In the World Championship, Cuba and Tunisia have met twice. The Cuban team triumphed in both matches with 3-0 scorelines. Cuba managed to win 3-1 over Korea, while Tunisia have lost all their matches in the competition so far.
European edge for Germany – Germany and Finland have run into each other in several matches at the European Championship. Germany won 3-2 in 1993. Also, Germany have not played a five-setter in their last 10 encounters at the World Championship. They had a run of 11 matches without any five-setter between 1994-2006.
Brazil go for 70th straight sets clincher – Brazil can clinch their 70th straight sets victory if they manage to maintain their perfect match and set sweep over Korea. The only other time Brazil lost to Korea was in the World League in 1992.
Bulgaria’s winning record against African sides – Bulgaria have won all four matches against African sides at the World Championship, including the match against Egypt. Only Tunisia managed to win a set against the European side.
NORCECA sides first meeting at the World Championship – Canada and Mexico will meet at the World Championship for the first time. Mexico can lose six matches in a row for the first time since losing nine in 1978-1982, while Canada can win three matches in a row for the first time since 1978.
Russia drops a set but remain on top of standings – Russia is the only team in Pool C that have not lost a match but kept their set-losses to a minimum, dropping only one set so far. China have started the tournament with two victories followed by a straight sets loss against Bulgaria.
Winning percentages matters – France have a 49% win ratio in all of their World Championship matches. A win over USA would lift their percentage to 50 per cent. However, USA have a winning quotient of 60 per cent.
Iranian playmaker raises the bar – After six days of competition, Iranian setter Mir Saeid Marouflakrani averages 11 setups per set – the highest in this edition of the World Championship so far. His key performance is needed to beat a tough Belgian squad, who have become the dark horse in major men’s competitions.
Italy recovering well – The Italians are coming off a two-match winning streak and can win three matches in a row after an opening match loss to Iran, while the Puerto Ricans are on losing skid of four matches in straight sets for the first time since their debut at the World Championship in 1974.