Poland are hoping to keep their clean record of wins as they enter Round Two of the Men's World Championship on Wednesday
Lausanne, Switzerland, September 8, 2014 –
Following 60 matches and nine days of pool play across four Polish cities, the FIVB
Men’s World Championship breaks for a couple of days before the 16 qualified teams
head into Round Two of the tournament.- 16
teams – the top four from each pool – have advanced to Round Two: Poland,
Serbia, Argentina, Australia (Pool A); Brazil, Germany, Finland, Cuba (Pool B),
Russia, Canada, Bulgaria, China (Pool C) France, Iran, USA and Italy (Pool D). - The
teams will be split into two groups (Pools E and F) for Round Two and will play in Lodz, Bydgoszcz,
Katowice and Wroclaw.- Hosts
Poland are still unbeaten at the 2014 Men’s World Championship after five
matches and have lost only one set. They will play all their Round Two matches
in Lodz.The “Super Sunday” action, which saw 12
matches played across four venues, was for the most part a battle of points as
most of the teams had already secured their tickets to Round Two of the
tournament by Saturday. Poland,
Argentina and Serbia in Pool A, were
certain of a spot going into Sunday’s matches. But Poland and Argentina were looking
to earn maximum points, which the host country did much to the delight of the
local crowd with a three set win 3-0 (25-20, 25-20,
25-23) over
Argentina. The situation was more critical for Australia and Venezuela as only
the winner qualified for the next round, which the Volleyroos did after an
exciting five set match 3-2 (25-20, 23-25,
21-25, 25-16,15-9). World
No. 1 and defending champions Brazil had to work hard to win their Pool B match against Cuba, after a
shock first set loss. Brazil fought back to take the match 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-18,
25-17) but now trail Poland by one set in the current overall points situation.
With Brazil, Cuba and Germany assured of a place in Round Two, Finland made
light work of Tunisia 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-20) to secure their spot in the
next round. The Pool C matches on Sunday were also critical
to Russia, Bulgaria, Canada and China who had all qualified for Round Two. As
with Brazil, reigning Olympic champions Russia had an interesting time as Bulgaria
shocked them with a 25-20 first set win. They eventually won the match though Russia
now trails Brazil and Poland by one point as they move to the next round. Canada’s
3-0 (26-24, 27-25, 25-17) victory over China, was their fourth consecutive
World Championship win, allowing them to finish the round with five points. The Pool D leaders were less clear cut
going into Sunday’s matches. France beat Belgium 15-12 in the tie-break for an
overall win of 3-2 (25-14, 21-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12) to finish top of Pool D
with seven points, while Iran’s win over Puerto Rico earned them five points and ensured their spot in the
next round. With Belgium and Puerto Rico out
of the picture, USA and Italy were left to fight it out to determine their
place in Round Two. USA’s 3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17) victory over Italy sees
them continue into Pool E with four points while Italy moves ahead with two
points.The teams now line up into two pools of eight
teams each:Pool
E (Lodz & Bydgoszcz)
Poland
|
pts
9, sets 9-0
|
France
|
pts
7, sets 8-5
|
Serbia
|
pts
6, sets 6-5
|
Iran
|
pts
5, sets 7-6
|
USA
|
pts
4, sets 6-7
|
Argentina
|
pts
3, sets 4-6
|
Italy
|
pts
2, sets 5-8
|
Australia
|
pts
0, sets 1-9
|
Pool F (Katowice & Wroclaw)
Brazil
|
pts
9, sets 9-1
|
Russia
|
pts
8, sets 9-2
|
Germany
|
pts
6, sets 6-4
|
Canada
|
pts
5, sets 6-5 (2 wins)
|
Bulgaria
|
pts
5, sets 7-6 (1 win)
|
Finland
|
pts
2, sets 4-8
|
Cuba
|
pts
1, sets 3-9
|
China
|
pts
0, sets 0-9
|