Poland will host Brazil in Lodz for the first match in Pool H in the third round of the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship
Lausanne, Switzerland, September 16, 2014 – With the end of the second round, the top six teams will make every performance count, as the final group stages of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship come to light from September 16 to 18, in the cities of Katowice for Pool G and Lodz for Pool H.
Pool G comprises of France, Germany and Iran, while Pool H includes three-time winners and defending champions Brazil, Russia and hosts Poland.
In the first two matches of the third round, France and Germany will have an all-European encounter, while undefeated Brazil will go up against crowd favourites Poland.
France topped Pool E in the second round with five wins from seven matches and will finish in the top six for the sixth time at the World Championship. Their opponents Germany finished third in Pool F in the second round behind Pool H contenders Brazil and Russia, claiming a total of five wins. The Germans will finish in the top six of a World Championship for the first time in 40 years.
Meanwhile, Poland finished in second place in Pool E with six wins in and one loss. This will be Poland’s 10th top six finish in history and their second in the last 28 years.
Brazil are the only team left in the competition to have won all of their matches and finished on top of Pool F in the second round. The Brazilian squad is guaranteed a top six finish for the 10th consecutive time.
France and Germany bank on offence workhorses – France and Germany will certainly use their best options on offence – skill leaders Antonin Rouzier of France, and Denys Kaliberda and Gyorgy Grozer of Germany. Rouzier is the best scorer in the competition with a total of 166 points. Kaliberda is Germany’s best spiker who averages a 55.83 per cent success rate, and team-mate Grozer is their hero from the service line with an average of 0.67 aces per set. France and Germany will meet for the fourth time at the World Championship with the Germans winning two of their three previous meetings.
Brazil’s winning consistency vs Poland’s endurance – Brazil have finished in the top six for ten consecutive times. They are on their longest winning streak in the competition with 13 consecutive match victories, including their four wins at the end of the 2010 World Championship. If they continue their winning streak, they could become the first team to remain undefeated at the World Championship since the Soviet Union achieved it in 1982. Poland, on the other hand, have keeping a firm grip of their goal to become the second hosts to win the World Championship since Czechoslovakia won the title in 1966. In Poland’s last two matches, they have been tested and prevailed in five-set matches against Iran and France. These two teams have met seven times at the World Championship with Poland winning the first three meetings, and Brazil winning the next four.