08/01/2019 22:00
Seven tickets to EuroVolley Men up for grabs on Wednesday
CEV EuroVolley 2019 Men
Luxembourg, January 8, 2019. It is all or nothing in the qualifiers for the EuroVolley 2019 Men as there is still a lot to play for on Wednesday when 12 matches take place to determine the last teams to join the history-making tournament co-hosted by France, Slovenia, Belgium and the Netherlands. The situation is especially interesting since we still have to find the group winners in Pool D and E – and these will eventually qualify straight to the Finals. On the other hand, we have to wait for all results to assign another five spots since we have to discard the results of the matches with the team finishing last in the pools of four to determine the five best runners-up across all groups that will book a ticket to EuroVolley as well. Make sure you follow all of the action on EuroVolleyTV, the new digital home of European Volleyball!
Pool A
Denmark vs. Romania
• It is top against bottom in Pool A, when Romania visit Denmark.
• Romania are yet to lose in this qualification round, whereas Denmark still seek their first victory.
• Romania sealed their ticket to EuroVolley 2019 back in August already.
• Denmark pushed Romania in all five sets in the opening match, which ended 3-2 in favour of Romania last summer.
• Denmark inaugurate their new home court, Antvorskovhallen in Slagelse, and hope to give an expected record high number of home fans a great experience.
Michael Melstein setting for Israel in an earlier EuroVolley qualifier.
Pool B
Latvia vs. Israel
• Israel need a victory to remain in contention for a spot in the Final Round.
• Latvia’s hopes vanished on Sunday after losing the Baltic derby with Estonia.
• Vladimirs Visockis just dyed his hair ginger.
• Janis Jansons will be making his debut with the Latvian national team.
Avo Keel, head coach of Latvia: “Everyone in the team really tried to play the best they could this far, sometimes they were able to do that, and sometimes they did not.”
Pool C
Iceland vs. Slovakia
• Slovakia qualified for EuroVolley last Saturday after storming to a 3-0 victory over Montenegro in Nitra.
• Iceland are yet to win a match and sit at the bottom of the charts in Pool C.
• Slovakia have changed a bit their roster for their last match in the pool against Iceland.
• Last summer Slovakia beat Iceland 3-0 on their home soil (25-7, 25-15, 25-17).
Christophe Achten, head coach of Iceland: “Slovakia are the best team in the pool, so my team has to enjoy playing against these top-level players.”
Andrej Kravarik, head coach of Slovakia: “We come here to Iceland to finish the qualifiers in the best way and show everyone that we were up to the role of favourites in the pool.”
Montenegro vs. Republic of Moldova
• Montenegro and Moldova are fighting for second place in the Pool.
• The eventual winners could qualify for EuroVolley depending on the results from the other groups.
• It would be a truly historic achievement for any of these two countries since they never competed on Europe’s most prestigious stage since their respective independence.
• Back in August, Moldova edged Montenegro 3-2 in Chisinau to start their EuroVolley campaign on a high note.
Portugal are fighting for the top spot in Pool D.
Pool D
Albania vs. Portugal
• Albania are out of contention for second place in the pool and a spot at EuroVolley even if they beat Portugal in three sets.
• Portugal lead the way in the pool but Austria may still leapfrog them if Portugal lose to Albania without taking any points from this match and Austria claim three from their away fixture with Croatia.
• Last August, Portugal comfortably beat Albania 3-0 in Matosinhos.
Croatia vs. Austria
• It is an all-important game for Austria if they want to qualify for EuroVolley for the first time since they co-hosted the tournament with the Czech Republic back in 2011.
• Croatia, on the other hand, are out of contention since they have won only once in five matches they have played this far.
• The Croatian players are all doing fine, after some suffered of stomach problems last weekend in Portugal. Ivan Mihalj will play as well.
• Austria beat Croatia 3-1 back in August, but Croatia could not count on their first setter Tsimafei Zhukouski at the time.
• The organisers expect some 50 Austrian fans to attend the match in Zagreb.
Pool E
Georgia vs. Spain
• Georgia are yet to win a set after five matches.
• Spain are full in contention for qualification to EuroVolley as they sit in second place at this moment, but much depends on this match, the result of the game between Belarus and Norway and on what happens in the other pools.
• Last summer, Spain needed three sets only to rout Georgia in Melilla.
Norway vs. Belarus
• Norway and Belarus are fighting with Spain for a ticket to EuroVolley.
• Norway have to win and can only drop one set if they want to stay in contention. That would be a truly historic, first-ever qualification for EuroVolley for Team Norway.
• Last August, Belarus beat Norway 3-1 in Mogilev in a match where the ‘Vikings’ wasted many opportunities to have the upper hand.
• Norway’s captain Jonas Kvalen will return to the court after skipping the last match with Georgia.
Jonas Kvalen, captain of Norway: “We are prepared for a very tough match. We know what we need to have as a result if we are to qualify for the finals. We were close in the away game and are much better now so we are optimistic as to our possibilities to win and qualify.”
Tore Aleksandersen, head coach of Norway: “This is maybe the most important volleyball match in the history of the Norwegian Volleyball Federation! We play against Belarus at home for the second place in our group. We need to win at least 3-1 to have the chance to qualify for EuroVolley 2019. We had a great preparation in Kielnarowa in Poland, and won our away game in Georgia with 3-0.”
Aleksandar Ljaftov will carry the Macedonian hopes to claim a ticket to EuroVolley Men.
Pool F
Former Y.R. of Macedonia vs. Hungary
• After losing to Ukraine on Saturday and following Switzerland’s victory in Hungary, the Macedonian players need a 3-0 victory against Hungary on home ground in Kale Hall in Skopje to secure second place in the group.
• In the first match in Budapest back in August, Macedonia won 3-2 at the end of a tight game, in which all five sets ended with a two-point difference.
• The F.Y.R. of Macedonia and Hungary will lock horns for the fourth time in European qualifiers. Two decades ago, the Hungarians scored two wins, and the Macedonians hope to make it two wins for each side following this game.
• The ‘Red-and-Yellow’ are still hoping to secure a ticket to EuroVolley 2019. In order to achieve their dream, in addition to winning the last game, two more conditions need to be fulfilled. The first is Latvia to beat Israel in Jelgava, and the second Sweden to triumph over Azerbaijan in Stockholm.
• The Macedonian national team will play their 89th match in European qualifications. The generation led by captain Nikola Gjorgiev, who is the top scorer in the EuroVolley qualifiers this far, hope to make their maiden appearance in the competition, while Hungary hope to return to that stage for the first time in 36 years.
Nikola Matijasevic, head coach of the Former Y.R. of Macedonia: “We were not the favourites in Ukraine, but we will be now and we need to show it on the court. I told my players that we should start the match extremely motivated and show from the first point that we can break them, above all with our strong serving game. I regret that we are not in the position to decide our destiny, but I still hope that the spectators will come to help us win, and thus keep the chances for us to progress to the Finals.”
Nikola Gjorgiev, captain of the Former Y.R. of Macedonia: “The spirit is at a lower level now, but that can be an advantage for us. With a positive attitude, we can make a better game and a get a better result than what we achieved with Ukraine. Many things can change depending on the results of the other matches that are ahead of us, but we must win whether or not those results will suit us. We want to end up winning and hope that God gives us a chance to go to EuroVolley 2019.”
Switzerland vs. Ukraine
• Last Saturday, as they beat the Former Y.R. of Macedonia 3-1, Ukraine claimed their fifth straight victory in the pool to qualify for EuroVolley for the first time since 2005.
• Ukraine have made sure they will finish first in the pool regardless of the result they achieve against Switzerland.
• Switzerland are fighting with Former Y.R. of Macedonia and Hungary for second place in the pool and a ticket to EuroVolley.
• Last Saturday, Switzerland came back from two sets down to edge Hungary at the tiebreak and as a result, they remain in contention for a spot in the Final Round.
• Last summer Ukraine easily beat Switzerland 3-0 at home.
• Thanks to the home court advantage they enjoy at the Betoncoupe Arena in Schönenwerd, the young Swiss team might be able to cause a sensation. Nine of the 14 players who will play against the Ukraine on Wednesday have played or now play for the club of Schönenwerd. They look forward to this homecoming with the national team.
Switzerland are still in contention for a spot in the Final Round as well.
Mario Motta, head coach of Switzerland: “I am very satisfied with the important victory against Hungary, but also pleased overall because my players of the Swiss national team have positively surprised me time and again. While we did not engage in any calculations, we are all very motivated for the match on Wednesday. Our sole goal is to win at home in front of our fans. We are aware of the fact that we will play against a very strong team with five straight wins in this qualification round. Nevertheless, I trust my team and it would be great if my players could produce a surprise once again.”
Samuel Erath, captain of Switzerland: “On Wednesday, we will play against the Ukraine in the Betoncoupe Arena in Schönenwerd. There remains a slight chance to qualify for the European Championship if we can score a clear victory against this team, which dominated us in our first bout. In this match, we are the underdogs - that much is clear. However, our team is a lot more stable than in the first leg of the qualifiers and the Ukrainian team has already secured their spot at the EuroVolley 2019. Having said this, we will do our best to give the Swiss home fans a victory.”
Pool G
Sweden vs. Azerbaijan
• The last time the two teams clashed, Azerbaijan came out as victors after an astonishing comeback on home soil in Baku. Sweden dominated early in the match, had a 2-0 lead going into the third set and pushed for the three points when the score was 23-23. However, Azerbaijan managed to turn the tables around, bringing home a 3-2 victory.
• Azerbaijan secured second place in Pool G the past weekend with a home victory over Luxembourg and they are still in contention for a spot in the Final Round.
• Swedish setter Victor Nielsen will miss Wednesday’s game due to an injury.
Per-Erik Dalqvist, head coach of Team Sweden: “We cannot just lay down and die because we did not qualify for the Final Round. Our team still has a lot to play for; we are recharging and aim to give Azerbaijan a hell of a fight.”
Luxembourg vs. Greece
• There is not much to play for at d’Coque in Luxembourg since Greece are the clear pool winners with five wins in as many matches.
• Luxembourg, on the other hand, have only one victory to their name and cannot finish second anymore in the pool.
• Greece have dropped only two sets in five matches – and they did so when playing Azerbaijan in Baku.
• The Red Lions from Luxembourg will have to play free from any pressure in order to bid farewell to the competition on a high note and take a boost of energy for their next international competitions.
Dieter Scholl, head coach of Luxembourg: “We are able to show more than we did last weekend in Azerbaijan and we want to do this for our loyal fans in Luxembourg.”
Chris Zuidberg, one of the top scorers of this campaign: “Of course we are disappointed, since this was the first time that we really had a chance to participate in EuroVolley. Anyway, even if we finish last in our pool, this team sticks together and wants to finish with a good match at home.”
Tim Laevaert, player of Luxembourg: “We have to overcome this moral crack. Above all, we have a mental challenge to stand against Greece. Despite the tiredness, we are motivated enough to present ourselves in the best possible way in front of our own audience.”
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