Germany won the do-or-die match with Canada to enter the Final Six of the FIVB Men's World Championship
Katowice and Lodz, Poland, September 14, 2014 - Germany captured the last spot available to the third round in Pool F of the FIVB Men’s World Championship and were joined by hosts Poland and Iran from Pool E to complete the six teams with options to claim medals at the 2014 edition of the quadrennial volleyball competition.
Three-time defending champions Brazil, Olympic champions Russia and France had already secured of berth in the next round.
The third stage of the tournament, following a drawing of the lots that took place in Lodz, will have France, Germany and Iran battling in Pool G in Katowice and Poland, Brazil and Russia competing in Pool H in Lodz.
The top two ranked teams of each pool after a round-robin affair will advance to the semifinals with the two lowest placed will determine 5 and 6 positions.
In a do-or-die clash in Katowice, Germany overcame a tough opening set and went on to score a straight-set victory (28-26, 25-22, 25-23) against a relentless Canada.
On the other hand, Iran entered the exclusive group of six teams to battle for the top honors following a 3-1 (27-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-18) victory over Serbia to open the actions in Lodz on Sunday.
The second match had an already qualified Poland against pool leader France as consequence of the painful defeat suffered by United States to the hands of Argentina 3-2 (19-25, 28-26, 25-20, 23-25, 15-11) in Bydgoszcz.
Nevertheless, Poland and France engaged in a fiery battle with the home team finally getting the top hand with a 3-2 (25-18, 21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12) win.
In the other matches of Sunday, in Pool E, Italy won 3-1 (25-23, 25-14, 21-25, 25-18) over Australia while in Pool F, Brazil defeated Russia 3-1 (25-21, 26-24, 25-19, 25-19), Finland blanked Bulgaria 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-18) and China edged Cuba 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-20, 15-11).
The final positions in the second round were as following:
Pool E: France (5-2, 17 points), Poland (6-1, 16), Iran (5-2, 15), United States (4-3, 14), Serbia (3-4, 9), Argentina (3-4, 8), Italy (2-5, 5), Australia (0-7, 0).
Pool F: Brazil (7-0, 21 points), Russia (6-1, 17), Germany (5-2, 15), Canada (4-3, 10), Finland (2-5, 6), Cuba (2-5, 6), Bulgaria (1-6, 5), China (2-5, 4).
Results of September 14, 2014
Best performances
Top scorer by day24- Taylor Sander of United States v Belgium on 31-8-14
31- Zhi Yuan of China v Egypt on 1-9-14
27- Antonin Rouzier of France v Italy on 2-9-14
30- Zhi Yuan of China v Mexico on 3-9-14
20- Nikola Kovacevic of Serbia v Australia on 4-9-14
20- Jiri Kovar of Italy v Belgium on 4-9-14
20- Daniel Vargas of Mexico v Russia on 5-9-14
27- Maurice Torres of Puerto Rico v Italy on 6-9-14
25- Thomas Edgar of Australia v Venezuela on 7-9-14
23- Taylor Sander of United States v Poland on 10-9-14
25- Mariusz Wlazly of Poland v Italy on 11-9-14
28- Mariusz Wlazly of Poland v Iran on 13-9-14
30- Amir Ghafour of Iran v Serbia on 14-9-14
Top scoring performances31- Zhi Yuan of China v Egypt on 1-9-14
30- Zhi Yuan of China v Mexico on 3-9-14
30- Amir Ghafour of Iran v Serbia on 14-9-14
28- Mariusz Wlazly of Poland v Iran on 13-9-14
27- Antonin Rouzier of France v Italy on 2-9-14
27- Maurice Torres of Puerto Rico v Italy on 6-9-14
26- Kervin Piñerúa of Venezuela v Cameroon on 2-9-14
26- Matt Anderson of United States v Iran on 2-9-14
25- Taylor Sander of United States v Iran on 2-9-14
25- Jean Patrice Ndaki of Cameroon v Venezuela on 2-9-14
25- Ivan Zaytsev of Italy v France on 2-9-14
25- Todor Aleksiev of Bulgaria v Egypt on 6-9-14
25- Thomas Edgar of Australia v Venezuela on 7-9-14
25- Mariusz Wlazly of Poland v Italy on 11-9-14
Top blocking performances8- Seyed Mousavi of Iran v Italy on 31-8-14
8- Seyed Mousavi of Iran v Puerto Rico on 7-9-14
7- Seyed Mousavi of Iran v France on 4-9-14
7- Felix Chapman of Cuba v Korea on 5-9-14
7- Seyed Mousavi of Iran v Argentina on 11-9-14
Top serving performances8- Gyorgy Grozer of Germany v Bulgaria on 11-9-14
6- Zhi Yuan of China v Mexico on 3-9-14
6- Ricardo Lucarelli Santos of Brazil v Finland on 5-9-14
6- Kervin Piñerua of Venezuela v Australia on 7-9-14
6- Dimitriy Muserskiy of Russia v Bulgaria on 7-9-14
6- Facundo Conte of Argentina v Italy on 13-9-14
Top team blocking performances18- Bulgaria v Egypt on 6-9-14
16- Korea v Tunisia on 1-9-14
16- Italy v Belgium on 4-9-14
16- Iran v Belgium on 6-9-14
16- Iran v Puerto Rico on 7-9-14
Top team serving performances17- Russia v Bulgaria on 7-9-14
12- Germany v Bulgaria on 11-9-14
11- Venezuela v Cameroon on 2-9-14
11- Brazil v China on 11-9-14
11- Argentina v Italy on 13-9-14
Highest scoring sets33-31 China v Egypt (4th Set) on 1-9-14
33-31 Cameroon v Venezuela (3rd Set) on 2-9-14
32-30 Australia v France (3rd Set) on 11-9-14
31-29 United States v Serbia (2nd Set) on 11-9-14
30-28 Argentina v Italy (3rd Set) on 13-9-14
30-28 Cuba v Bulgaria (3rd Set) on 13-9-14
Highest scoring matches217- China d Finland 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 16-14) on 13-9-14
217- Argentina d United States 3-2 (19-25, 28-26, 25-20, 23-25, 15-11) on 14-9-14
216- Finland d Cuba 3-2 (18-25, 21-25, 27-25, 25-23, 15-12) on 1-9-14
216- Bulgaria d Egypt 3-2 (25-22, 26-24, 23-25, 20-25, 15-11) on 6-9-14
214- Australia d Venezuela 3-2 (25-20, 23-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-9) on 7-9-14