Tough challenge for Germany to remain Pool D leader in FIVB World League – Men
The coming weekend will showcase the third round of the 2012 FIVB Volleyball World League – Men that will also mark the eighth weekend of the tournament. The final round of the tournament is scheduled to be played in the Bulgarian city of Sofia, where the
host team has already been waiting for the rest of the 15 teams that make up the championship.
Out of the total 16 that initially started the tournament, only 12 teams now remain. Bulgaria is not the only one in the final round as the Polish squad has also been able to earn a place by topping the Pool B of the championship.
Germany will be approaching the weekend matches as the leader of Pool D. Along with Germany, Argentina, Bulgaria and Portugal also find themselves in the same pool.
The Germans have been able to get the top spot by scoring 13 points that have been bagged after securing four wins and two losses. The Argentineans are close behind at second place with 12 points that have been obtained with the help of four wins and two
losses as well. However, the difference in points between Germany and Argentina stems from the fact that the Germans have a set ratio of 2.143 while the Argentinean set ratio is 1.5.
Similarly, the Bulgarians have a 4-2 record as well but their points are 11 due to a set ratio of 1.3. The Portuguese find themselves at the bottom of the rung with no win so far in the tournament.
The Germans were not able to succeed in the last match that they played in the tournament which was against the Bulgarians on June 17 and lost to their rivals by 2-3. The score board showed the following final set scores: 19-25, 25-14, 25-19, 23-25 and 14-16.
The coach of the German squad, Vital Heynen, shared his views on the outcome of the match in the following words, “I want to congratulate Bulgaria because they had a more enthusiastic game and I hope to get revenge next weekend.”
On the other hand, the German captain, Bjorn Andrae, expressed himself in the following manner, “We did not start playing well but we found our momentum in the second and third. I hope to make it better next time.”
The German squad would have to step up their game in order to achieve and maintain a significant dominance in Pool D of the championship if they plan to make it to the final round.
The first match of the weekend that the Germans would be playing is scheduled to be against Portugal while the second match will be against Argentina with the last one played against the Bulgarians.
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