FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship round two preview
The second round of the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Women's Volleyball World Championship from Japan is set to begin on 6 November. Of 24 teams, only 16 survived the first round. The top four teams from four pools of six advanced to two
second-round pools.
Four more teams will be eliminated in the second round, and only the top two teams from each second-round pool will have a chance to play in the tournament’s first place semi-final and final matches. The third and fourth place finishers from each pool will
compete for the tournament’s fifth position in the semi-final and final rounds, and the fifth and sixth finishers will compete for ninth position in the tournament’s semi-final and final rounds.
Pool E includes the top four teams from Pools A and D, and Pool F will include teams from Pools B and C. The teams will carry their records against the other advancing teams into the second round, and will continue to play in a round robin format against
only the teams they haven’t already played.
Pool E
Countries earning spots in Pool E from Pool A include: Japan, Serbia, Poland and Peru. Each of those teams will play the teams advancing from Pool D: Russia, Korea, Turkey and China.
Russia and Japan enter the second round with perfect 3-0 records. Japan has a slight advantage being the host country, but Russia is already leading the tie-breaker with a 1.24 point differential ratio to Japan’s 1.103. Serbia and Korea are both sitting
at 2-1, and the winner of the match between them will have a chance of earning a top two finish in the second round.
Poland and Turkey will be hard pressed to move up to one of the top two positions, but they could move up to third or fourth with strong play. Poland has a 1.116 point differential ratio, which is better than every team in Pool E except Russia. That ratio
may be the deciding factor that puts Poland into third or fourth in the Pool, instead of fifth or sixth.
China and Peru enter the second round with 0-3 records, but every team will have to beware of China, which came into the tournament ranked third in the world. They’ve not played as well as they can so far, but that may change in the second round.
Pool F
Pool F consists of the top four teams from Pools B and C. From Pool B is: Brazil, Netherlands, Italy, and Czech Republic, and from Pool C is: USA, Germany, Cuba, and Thailand.
Brazil and the US are both undefeated with Brazil having a 1.340 point differential ratio compared to the USA’s 1.136. Germany sits in third place in the Pool with a 2-1 record.
Four teams come into Pool F with 1-2 records: Cuba, Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Italy, and all four have point differential ratio of less than one, meaning their points differential is a negative number. Unless one or both of Brazil and the US begin
an unlikely tailspin, Germany is the only team with a realistic chance of usurping one of the top two teams.
Thailand enters the second round with a 0-3 record, and will have a difficult time moving up from eighth in the Pool.
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