Poland and Brazil in final encounter of prelims: FIVB World League - Volleyball
Following a defeat in front of 11,000 spectators on Wednesday, June 29, Poland is once again ready to challenge Brazil in the final match of the preliminary round-robin of the FIVB World League on Thursday, June 30.
The thrilling fixture is going to take place at Spodek competition hall in the Polish city of Katowice. The defending champions, Brazil, scored a wonderful victory against Poland yesterday and are now looking forward to end the first round of the tournament on a good note by taking the second match from Poland. On the other hand, Poland is determined to bounce back after going down 3-1 to Brazil.
Although both teams are already confirmed for the Final Round, they will be playing for respect. Poland is confirmed for the Final round because they host the Final stage of the tournament which will be staged in Gdansk, Poland from 6 to10 July. Brazil earned the qualification by performing exquisitely well in the intercontinental round of the tournament.
Brazil entered the 2011 FIVB World League under the command of head coach Bernardinho Rezende. He created an excellent game-plan for his team in every match and has led them to success. So far, Brazil has played 11 matches and clinched success in nine and the Brazilian team is also defending the title this year. They have lost only two matches to Olympic Champions USA. Brazil came across Poland in the second week and finished on top as both matches were captured by Brazil. The last week of the intercontinental round once again brought the two teams up against each other. This time Poland was equipped with the emotional support of the home crowd but it didn’t work out any well for the Poles and they stumbled. Brazil is fully prepared for the kill in the coming match as well.
The Brazilian squad should have good memories of playing in Katowice as they seized their first FIVB World League title in the same city.
Brazilian Head Coach Bernardinho Rezende said, “I think that there is no person in the world who wouldn't get extremely emotional sitting in this hall tonight. In my opinion Spodek is one of the best, if not the best, hall in the world to play in.”
It is important for Poland to win at home but the skipper of the Polish team, Michal Bakiewicz, accepted the fact that Brazil is a more experienced team. The head coach, Andrea Anastasi, also agreed on the difference in playing skill between Poland and Brazil.
Poland has its job cut out for them and need to really bring their best to the court in order to overcome the dominant South Americans. Stay tuned to Bettor.com for updates and match recaps.
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