Wrocław, Poland, September 13, 2014 - Unhappy about his team's loss to China, Finnish setter Mikko Esko shared his thoughts after the Pool F encounter in Wroclaw.
In the second set it seemed that you would rise from the ashes. And actually you did, but the ending was for China. What happened?
China were risking a lot. They made a lot of mistakes in attack, but they also scored many points by block-outs against us. They kept their cool in difficult situations.
The next sets were tough as well, but China won over you. What was missing in the Finnish team's play today?
We did not serve well. That was our weakest element. I am disappointed that we lost. The opponent was one of those teams we should have won against. We really wanted to beat China, we needed it but unfortunately we did not play well. We had very few good moments and after the first set we stopped playing our volleyball. We made everything easier for them.
It is said that China is the best in defense, but today they played well in each element.
Yes, they gave a great performance in this game. They also did some amazing defense work taking risks worked for them.
If you could go back in time to any of the matches in this championship and play it again, which one would it be and why?
I would like to play against Canada again, because we lost the first two sets 25-27. I am curious what could happen if we won at least one of them.
Are you satisfied with your results?
Our results are not fantastic, but we have to take into consideration that this is our first World Championship in 32 years. We qualified for Round 2, we were the third team in our pool. That was our minimum target and we achieved it. However, I think we could have done a little better, but this is just sport – you win some, you lose some.
Which teams in your opinion will meet in the final?
Two teams like Russia and Brazil, or the USA.
There were many Finnish fans in the audience. Is volleyball popular in Finland?
Nowadays, volleyball is becoming more and more popular in Finland. It depends largely on our results. I have to say that it was great to play in front of Finnish fans today.