Argentina and Portugal ready to clash: 2011 FIVB World League – Volleyball news
The 2011 FIVB World League took a successful start on May 27, with the preliminary round robin matches. Each team played two matches in the first week. Argentina and Portugal were placed in Pool C along with Serbia and Finland. Team Argentina was put up with the Serbs in early two matches, while Portuguese team clashed with the boys from Finland.
In the second week of the tournament, pool members are supposed to take on different teams. The play will be resumed on Friday, June 3. This time around, Argentina will see different competitors on the other side of the net. Portugal is scheduled to take on the Argentinean team. The two teams will be featured in two matches on consecutive days, 3rd and 4th June.
The two sides have had infrequent meetings in the past. At the courts of the FIVB World League, Argentina last competed against Portugal in 2006. Before that they played together at the 2002 World Championship.
Both teams are preparing hard for the upcoming encounter. In a comparison, Portugal has done well in their previous matches. They pulled off success against Finland in both their matches and earned six points at the end of first week. In the round opener on May 28, Team Portugal put up a commendable effort. The match spanned over five sets but final success came to Portugal. In the next match on May 29, they kept an upper hand on opponents and didn’t allow them to hinder their performance. They captured the second match win after a four-set game. The team is enjoying great form and plans to win against Argentina.
On contrary to Portugal, team Argentine failed to make a mark in the opening match. The Serbian hotshots gave them a hard time in the first match and remained in the lead. Argentina lost the match in straight sets. Nonetheless, they performed better in the second match and recovered from the shock of the early defeat. Argentinean team fought back and held off Serbia for a straight-set win.
The head coach of Argentinean Team, Javier Weber, is confident that his team will perform better against Portugal. He stated, “With the course of time of the World League, our team is gaining rhythm and more balanced. Now we will face difficult opponents, since they have a similar level to our own. Portugal has a great volume of game and a great aggressiveness."
Alexandre Ferreira of Portugal said, “Argentina was very well in their second match; they practically didn’t make any errors and presented themselves very strong in the attack and in the block”.
Portugal has firmly held the top slot in the rankings so far. They have high expectations to keep their dominance in the next matches.
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