FIVB World League: Pool F – Volleyball news
The U.S. national men’s volleyball team has been able to finish off pool play with a total of eight victories with four defeats. They now find themselves headed towards Poland on Sunday to take part in the final round of the FIVB World League 2011.
The previous week, FIVB had announced the pools for the final round of the World League and the American side found themselves grouped in Pool F. The other teams that share the space with the U.S. squad are Russia, Brazil and Cuba.
The final round of the league matches are scheduled to begin from the 6th of July and end on the 10th. During this time, the teams in each of the pools will be playing in a round robin style match schedule. A total of four teams will
advance onto the semi-finals that are going to take place on Saturday. These four teams will be the top two in both Pool E and F.
The U.S. squad has had the honour of taking home the champion’s title once in its history and they are looking forward to add another one to their credit. The first time that the U.S. team was able to do this was in 2008.
The U.S. team is not the only one with high ambitions and the Russian side has been performing formidably in the Intercontinental round that recently reached its close. The Russians have only lost one match so far and will be hoping to make it all the way
into the final and redeem themselves for the championship loss that the team suffered last year. If the Russian squad manages to scrap together a final victory, it would be the second time that they bring home the FIVB title, with the first one bagged way
back in 2002.
Brazil reigns in the pool with an impressive history to back their commendable performance this year. The Brazilians are heading for the final round with 10 wins obtained at the cost of incurring two losses. If the Brazilians win the title this year, it
would be their third consecutive win. They already have a total of nine FIVB championship wins.
With teams like Brazil, Russia and US in their pool, the Cuban side stands out as the underdog. Cuba features a young squad and is setting their goals realistically. The commendable performance of the Cubans got them a fourth place finish last year and with
the young squad that the Cubans have, they will be hoping for an improved finish this year.
The final of the FIVB is set to take place on Sunday at the Ergo Arena in Poland.
Tags: