The main stage of the Volleyball League of Nations is slowly coming to an end. The situation in the table is slowly clearing up. So who will the wards of Nikola Grbic play in the VNL quarter-finals? Now almost everything is clear.
The preliminary stage of the League of Nations has already selected seven participants in the final tournament, which will be held at the Ergo Arena in Gdansk. The final tournament of the League of Nations 2023 is scheduled for July 19-23 and will be played according to the knockout system:
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Quarter-final 1: 1st place, team vs. team 8th place
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Quarterfinal 2: 2nd place team vs. team 7th place
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Quarterfinal 3: 3rd place team vs. Team 6th place
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Quarterfinal 4: 4th place team vs. team 5th place
The Poles have already been promoted by being the hosts, but still occupy high places in the table. In addition to the white and red teams, the teams of Japan, the USA, Brazil, Slovenia, Argentina and Italy consolidated their progress. So there was one place left, and three teams had chances to fill it - Serbia, France and the Netherlands. The latter lost their last skirmishes with Slovenia 0:3, Japan 1:3 and Brazil 0:3, so they lost the opportunity to play with a balance of 5:7.
Who made it to the 2023 Nations League final
At the moment, Serbia is in eighth place with a balance of 6:6 after twelve games, a balance of 23:23 and a total of 16 points. In turn, France is in 10th place with 13 points, a win balance of 5:6 and a set balance of 20:20. Tricolor has one more game left to play against Germany, who are 11th in the table. This meeting is scheduled for 2:00.
In case of victory, the Olympic champions will have the same win-loss record as the Serbs - 6-6 and the same number of points (when winning 3-0 or 3-1) - 16. In the case of a set record, it will be (if they will win by three points) 23:20 or 23:21, which is positive, and not zero, like their rivals. In addition, Tricolor beat the ninth team of the FIVB with a score of 3:1, so now everything is in their hands.
Who will the Poles play in the quarter-finals of the League of Nations?
After the match with Japan, Poland is in second place, behind the volleyball players from the Land of the Rising Sun and ahead of the United States, which will play another match with Bulgaria, which is scheduled for 5:30. In the event of a defeat with such a representation, the Americans with the worst track record will not overtake the white-reds, who will remain second in the table. Thanks to this, Nikola Grbic’s men will meet with the eighth in the table Slovenia, which they beat, opening the third week of VNL in the Philippines.
On the other hand, if the US wins the last match, they will overtake both Japan and Poland to top the table with 31 or 30 points, depending on the size of the win. In this case, the white-reds will meet with Brazil, which occupies the sixth place in the table. We also beat Canarinhos in the Philippines 3-1.
Thanks to this victory, the wards of Nikola Grbic accomplished a historic feat - for the first time in history they beat Canarinhos three times in a row. The first winning match took place in last year’s Nations League (3:1), then during the World Cup 3:2 and now in Pasay City. This has never happened before.
Nations League table after the match Poland - Japan
| Place | Team | Matches played | Balance match | Set balance | points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Japan | 12 | 10:2 | 31:16 | 27 |
| 2. | Poland | 12 | 10:2 | 27:19 | 25 |
| 3. | United States | eleven | 9:2 | 30:7 | 28 |
| 4. | Italy | 12 | 9:3 | 28:15 | 26 |
| 5. | Argentina | 12 | 9:3 | 32:18 | 26 |
| 6. | Brazil | 12 | 8:4 | 30:18 | 25 |
| 7. | Slovenia | 12 | 8:4 | 27:17 | 25 |
| 8. | Serbia | 12 | 6:6 | 23:23 | 16 |
| 9. | Netherlands | 12 | 5:7 | 22:24 | 17 |
| 10. | France | eleven | 5:6 | 20:20 | 13 |
| eleven. | Germany | eleven | 3:8 | 15:25 | 10 |
| 12. | Canada | 12 | 3:9 | 15:31 | 9 |
| 13. | Iran | eleven | 2:9 | 14:28 | 10 |
| 14. | Bulgaria | eleven | 2:9 | 13:29 | 8 |
| 15. | Cuba | eleven | 2:9 | 12:31 | 6 |
| 16. | China | 12 | 2:10 | 12:33 | 6 |
Source: Wprost
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have been an author at Daily News Hack for the past 1 year. I mostly cover sports news, but I also have a keen interest in current affairs and politics. In my spare time, I enjoy playing tennis and spending time with my family.
