VNL 2022: The Netherlands last qualified for Final 8! Quarterfinals determined…

After today’s games in Volleyball Nations League preliminary round, the Netherlands got the last spot in Bologna.

The quarterfinal pairs are known and we will have a great clash in Bologna: USA vs. Brazil!
Italia will play the Netherlands, Poland will play Iran, and France will play Japan in the remaining quarterfinal matches.

In the semifinals, the winners of Italy vs. the Netherlands (Quarterfinal 1) will take on the winners of France vs. Japan (Quarterfinal 4), and the winners of Poland vs. Iran (Quarterfinal 2) will take on the winners of USA vs. Brazil (Quarterfinal 3).

Despite a defeat to Italy in their last Preliminary Phase match on Sunday, the Netherlands stay on to their eighth place and secured the final spot in the Volleyball Nations League 2022 Final 8 in Bologna, Italy. This created four intriguing quarterfinal matches: Dutch and Italians will meet again in less than two weeks in one of the four quarterfinals of the event, with the other three matches between reigning world champions Poland and Asian champions Iran, reigning VNL champions Brazil and three-time Olympic champions the United States and reigning Olympic champions France and Asian powerhouse Japan.

Two quarterfinal matches will open the Finals in Bologna on July 20, with the two others to follow on the next day.
After a day off, the event will continue on July 23 with the semifinals and come to an end with the medal matches on July 24.
The final schedule will be announced on Monday.

In details, defending champions Brazil will have a challenging path to defend their 2021 VNL title, starting in the quarterfinals with one of their fiercest rivals, USA. These two teams have a long-standing rivalry, having met in two Olympic gold medal matches and several other very important matches over the last few decades.
USA, who ended the Preliminary Phase in third place with ten wins and two losses, were one of four teams to defeat Brazil so far, by beating the South Americans in four sets in front of their home fans in Brasilia during the opening week of the competition. Last year, at the Tokyo Olympics, however, Brazil (who lost opposite Alan de Souza to injury in Sofia and saw his younger brother, Darlan, step up and replace him in the starting lineup) defeated USA by the same score!

The second-best team in the Preliminary Phase with ten wins and just two defeats, Poland will try to improve on the silver medal they won in 2021. Despite the absence of injured star Wilfredo Leon, they have had no issues maintaining their form, with opposite Bartosz Kurek and outside hitters Aleksander Sliwka and Kamil Semeniuk decisive in key moments.
One of the most important tasks for them in quarterfinal against Iran will be facing 25-year-old opposite Amin Esmaeilnezhad. Playing in the VNL for the first time in his career, he has helped the Asian side to win seven of their 12 Preliminary Phase matches and rank seventh with his 193 points, the second-highest bomber in the entire tournament.

Dutch player Nimir Abdel-Aziz is another high-scoring opposite and one of the best in the competition. The top scorer (231 points), top hitter (191) and top server (30) of VNL so far, he’ll need to be at his absolute best for the Netherlands to be able to challenge Italy, after they ended the Preliminary Phase with six wins and six defeats.
The reigning European champions Italy, on the other hand, played their first 12 matches without pressure, knowing they had a place guaranteed in the Final 8 as hosts, but won ten to finish with the best campaign among all 16 teams.

The fourth quarterfinal matchup should be another exciting one, and will be played between France and Japan, two teams that ended the Preliminary Phase with similar campaigns of nine wins and three defeats.
France have preserved the core of the great team that won gold last year in Tokyo Olympic Games and will count on star outside hitter Earvin Ngapeth and team captain Benjamin Toniutti to defeat Japan and repeat the result of their encounter in the Preliminary Phase.
Japan, however, have one of the most dynamic and productive duos of the competition, with opposite Yuji Nishida and outside hitter Yuki Ishikawa able to score 357 points, 278 attacks and 56 aces during the Preliminary Phase.

About today’s games, in details, in
first irrilevant game Serbia defeat China in four sets (17:25, 17:25, 25:23, 22:25), as we already know Italy defeat The Netherlands 3-0 (25:23, 26:24, 25:21) while Poland condamned Slovenia by beating the rivals in four sets (25:14, 25:23, 23:25, 25:17). Highlights and final standings below.

🏐| FINAL STANDINGS
1. Italy 31
2. Poland 31
3. USA 27
4. France 28
5. Japan 27
6. Brazil 24
7. Iran 20
8. The Netherlands 17
Argentina 18
Slovenia 15
Serbia 14
Germany 10
China 9
Bulgaria 9
Canada 6
Australia 2

FULL PROGRAM

— July 05, 2022 —

Pool 5 – Week 3 – Osaka 🇯🇵
• 15:00 (Local Time) USA – Germany 3-1 (25:21, 25:19, 22:25, 25:18)
• 18:00 (Local Time) Canada – Argentina 1-3 (21:25, 25:23, 21:25, 23:25)

Pool 6 – Week 3 – Gdansk 🇵🇱
• 16:00 (Local Time) Bulgaria – Italy 0-3 (15:25, 20:25, 23:25)
• 20:00 (Local Time) Iran – Poland 3-2 (21:25, 25:23, 25:22, 25:27, 15:7)

__________________

— July 06, 2022 —

Pool 5 – Week 3 – Osaka 🇯🇵
• 15:40 (Local Time) Brazil- Germany 3-1 (25:27, 25:17, 25:20, 25:19)
• 19:10 (Local Time) Japan – Australia 3-1 (25:18, 25:15, 23:25, 25:19)

Pool 6 – Week 3 – Gdansk 🇵🇱

• 16:00 (Local Time) The Netherlands – China 3-0 (29:27, 25:12, 25:13)
• 20:00 (Local Time) Slovenia – Serbia 3-0 (25:15, 25:19, 25:23)

__________________

— July 07, 2022 —

Pool 5 – Week 3 – Osaka 🇯🇵
• 12:00 (Local Time) France – USA 2-3 (25:15, 22:25, 25:22, 14:25, 8:15)
• 15:00 (Local Time) Germany – Australia 3-1 (20:25, 25:16, 25:21, 26:24)
• 18:00 (Local Time) Canada – Brazil 0-3 (18:25, 19:25, 16:25)

Pool 6 – Week 3 – Gdansk 🇵🇱
• 12:00 (Local Time) Italy – Iran 3-1 (25:16, 25:27, 25:23, 25:23)
• 16:00 (Local Time) Bulgaria – Slovenia 1-3 (22:25, 25:22, 18:25, 25:16)
• 20:00 (Local Time) Poland – China 3-0 (26:24, 25:16, 25:18)

__________________

— July 08, 2022 —

Pool 5 – Week 3 – Osaka 🇯🇵
• 12:40 (Local Time) Argentina – Australia 3-1 (21:25, 25:23, 25:19, 25:15)
• 15:40 (Local Time) France – Brazil 3-0 (25:21, 25:22, 25:21)
• 19:10 (Local Time) Japan – Canada 3-1 (25:20, 25:16, 22:25, 25:20)

Pool 6 – Week 3 – Gdansk 🇵🇱
• 12:00 (Local Time) Bulgaria – The Netherlands 3-1 (22:25, 25:16, 25:21, 25:21)
• 16:00 (Local Time) Slovenia – Iran 0-3 (24:26, 14:25, 21:25)
• 20:00 (Local Time) Italy – Serbia 3-0 (25:21, 25:14, 25:23)
__________________

— July 09, 2022 —

Pool 5 – Week 3 – Osaka 🇯🇵
• 12:40 (Local Time) France – Argentina 1-3 (22:25, 25:23, 23:25, 19:25)
• 15:40 (Local Time) Canada – USA 0-3 (19:25, 15:25, 19:25)
• 19:10 (Local Time) Germany – Japan 1-3 (25:23, 22:25, 20:25, 20:25)

Pool 6 – Week 3 – Gdansk 🇵🇱
• 12:00 (Local Time) China – Bulgaria 3-1 (26:28, 25:23, 25:23, 25:17)
• 16:00 (Local Time) Iran – Serbia 3-0 (35:33, 25:21, 25:12)
• 20:00 (Local Time) Poland – The Netherlands 3-0 (25:19, 25:23, 25:22)

__________________

— July 10, 2022 —

Pool 5 – Week 3 – Osaka 🇯🇵
• 12:40 (Local Time) USA – Argentina 3-2 (29:27, 22:25, 20:25, 25:23, 17:15)
• 15:40 (Local Time) Australia – France 0-3 (16:25, 12:25, 26:28)
• 19:10 (Local Time) Brazil – Japan 3-0 (25:23, 25:23, 25:22)

👉🏼 Pool 6 – Week 3 – Gdansk 🇵🇱
• 12:00 (Local Time) China – Serbia 1-3 (17:25, 17:25, 25:23, 22:25)