VNL 2022: Poland destroy Canada, three points also for Brazil and Iran, who stun USA!
4 min read
Three matches were played today in Pool 4 of Sofia, Bulgaria.
In first, all easy for Poland who defeated Canada with a clear 3-0 (25:16, 25:18, 25:16).
Poland easily outclassed Canada, and the head coach of the world champions Nikola Grbić stirred his team a bit, leaving several starters from the previous match against Brazil, in which his side prevailed, too, on the bench. But, it didn’t reflect on the play of Poland who recorded its fourth successive win and an excellent score of 5-1. Łukasz Kaczmarek top-scored the winners with 13 points.
On the second match of the day, Brazil finally reacted after a series of setbacks, the biggest such series since 2018, in the competition and defeat Serbia in their second match of Week 2.
Brazil ended a sequence of three defeats in the competition, recovered, and returned to the fight for the playoffs. Serbia, on the other hand, with a mixed team, made Brazil’s job harder only in the second set in which they had a set point but were unable to close it and tie the match at 1-1.
So, they got swept by the Renan Dal Zotto’s team, partially 25:18, 26:24, and 25:17.
With three wins and three defeats, Brazil now sit at seventh place in the standings with nine points, and only the top eight sides will have a guaranteed place in the title fight. Serbia dropped to 11th place on 2-4. Ricardo Lucarelli was the highlight of the winners with 14 points, including two aces and two blocks and 53% success rate.
The outside hitter shared the match top scorer honours with Serbian opposite Nikola Meljanac.
Brazilian pposite Alan Souza added another 13 points to stay in the lead of the competition’s best scorers chart on a total of 110.
“It’s always good and amazing to win, and we need it!” said Lucarelli. “We did not arrive from Brazil in a very good mood and when we lost the first game here to Poland our mood went further down. So today’s win was good for getting our confidence back. I think that game by game I am coming back into shape after not playing for a long time. I feel good on the court and I am happy to help.”
Close the picture today a superb Iran, who stunned super
favorite USA. In their sixth match in the Nations League 2022, the national team from Asia defeated the rivals in straight sets (18:25, 27:29, 25:27) to achieve a valuable and important victory in their pursuit of Top 8 placement.
Moreover, Iran’s victory today marked the first defeat of the USA in this competition following five triumphs after which they failed to reclaim the leadership of the competition, temporarily falling to the third place.
Amin Esmaeilnezhad top-scored the winners with 20 points.
🏐| STANDINGS (updated on this day)
France 15
Poland 15
USA 14
Japan 13
Italy 12
The Netherlands 9
Slovenia 9
Brazil 9
Iran 9
Germany 7
China 6
Serbia 6
Canada 5
Bulgaria 5
Argentina 4
Australia 0
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— June 21, 2022 —
Pool 3 – Week 2 – Quezon City 🇵🇭
• 15:00 (Local Time) Slovenia – The Netherlands 0-3 (17:25, 21:25, 24:26)
• 19:00 (Local Time) Argentina – Japan 1-3 (25:27, 18:25, 25:17, 16:25)
Pool 4 – Week 2 – Sofia 🇧🇬
• 17:00 (Local Time) Australia – Canada 1-3 (25:18, 26:28, 19:25, 22:25)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 20:00 (Local Time) Iran – Bulgaria 0-3 (19:25, 23:25, 24:26)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
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— June 22, 2022 —
Pool 3 – Week 2 – Quezon City 🇵🇭
• 15:00 (Local Time) China – France 0-3 (0:25, 0:25, 0:25)
• 19:00 (Local Time) Germany – Italy 0-3 (16:25, 21:25, 22:25)
Pool 4 – Week 2 – Sofia 🇧🇬
• 17:00 (Local Time) Brazil – Poland 1-3 (16:25, 25:22, 16:25, 22:25)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 20:00 (Local Time) Serbia – USA 1-3 (24:26, 25:23, 23:25, 20:25)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
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— June 23, 2022 —
Pool 3 – Week 2 – Quezon City 🇵🇭
• 11:00 (Local Time) France – The Netherlands 3-0 (25:14, 25:23, 25:13)
• 15:00 (Local Time) China – Germany 3-0 (25:0, 25:0, 25:0)
• 19:00 (Local Time) Argentina – Slovenia 1-3 (20:25, 29:27, 18:25, 19:25)
👉🏼 Pool 4 – Week 2 – Sofia 🇧🇬
• 13:30 (Local Time) Poland – Canada 3-0 (25:16, 25:18, 25:16)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 16:30 (Local Time) Serbia – Brazil 0-3 (18:25, 24:26, 17:25)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 20:00 (Local Time) USA – Iran 0-3 (18:25, 27:29, 25:27)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
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— June 24, 2022 —
Pool 3 – Week 2 – Quezon City 🇵🇭
• 11:00 (Local Time) Germany – The Netherlands 1-3 (25:22, 29:31, 23:25, 16:25)
• 15:00 (Local Time) Argentina – China 3-1 (25:22, 22:25, 25:22, 25:22)
• 19:00 (Local Time) Japan – Italy 3-2 (25:20, 21:25, 24:26, 25:19, 15:13)
Pool 4 – Week 2 – Sofia 🇧🇬
• 13:30 (Local Time) Serbia – Canada 3-2 (20:25, 19:25, 25:20, 26:24, 15:11)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 16:30 (Local Time) Iran – Brazil 0-3 (28:20, 23:25, 19:25)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 20:00 (Local Time) Australia – Bulgaria 3-2 (21:25, 25:13, 25:22, 20:25, 17:15)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
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— June 25, 2022 —
Pool 3 – Week 2 – Quezon City 🇵🇭
• 11:00 (Local Time) Argentina – The Netherlands 2-3 (25:22, 23:25, 25:20, 19:25, 13:15)
• 15:00 (Local Time) Japan – France 0-3 (22:25, 25:27, 16:25)
• 19:00 (Local Time) Italy – Slovenia 3-0 (25:19, 25:16, 25:21)
Pool 4 – Week 2 – Sofia 🇧🇬
• 13:30 (Local Time) Canada – Iran 0-3 (21:25, 25:27, 18:25)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 16:30 (Local Time) Poland – Australia 3-0 (25:17, 25:19, 25:14)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 20:00 (Local Time) USA – Bulgaria 3-1 (25:12, 20:25, 26:24, 25:23)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
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— June 26, 2022 —
Pool 3 – Week 2 – Quezon City 🇵🇭
• 11:00 (Local Time) Germany – France 1-3 (16:25, 19:25, 25:19, 21:25)
• 15:00 (Local Time) Japan – Slovenia 3-1 (25:21, 22:25, 25:18, 25:19)
• 19:00 (Local Time) Italy – China 3-0 (25:21, 25:18, 25:19)
Pool 4 – Week 2 – Sofia 🇧🇬
13:30 (Local Time) Serbia – Australia
16:30 (Local Time) USA – Poland
20:00 (Local Time) Bulgaria – Brazil
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