ARGENTINA stunned heavily favoured Brazil last night to complete the semi-final line-up in the 2023 FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship, being hosted by Bahrain at Isa Sports City in Riffa.
The Argentinians secured their berth following a resounding straight-sets victory over their fellow South Americans in both teams’ concluding Pool F match in the tournament’s elite eight.
Argentina now join defending champions Italy, 2019 titlists Iran, and Bulgaria in the final four, scheduled to be held tomorrow.
They will take on Iran, while Italy and Bulgaria lock horns in an all-European affair for a place in the gold medal game.
The 16-nation Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) competition is being held under the patronage of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Today is a rest day. Along with the semis, the classification games start tomorrow. Play will then culminate with the final ranking matches on Sunday, highlighted by the bronze and gold medal games.
In Argentina’s win, which was their second in three Pool F assignments, they dug deep to stay in control and never wavered despite the intense pressure from the Brazilians. Three players finished in double figures for Argentina, including opposite German Alfredo Gomez, who had 14 points, and outside hitters Lucas Conde and Fausto Diaz, who finished with 13 and 11, respectively. Franca Maicon dos Santos was Brazil’s top scorer with 16 markers.
Argentinian middle blocker Imanol Salazar said after their win: “It was a great match. We are so very happy. This is historic for us.”
Salazar lauded his side for staying positive after losing their first game in the top eight against Italy, but then roaring back with hard-earned wins against Belgium and Brazil to secure their final four spot.
“We know that it is never lost until the last point,” Salazar said. “We are now thinking of the next match. We are concentrating on facing Iran now, and we will be ready for them.”
Italy completed their Pool F campaign winning all three of their games in this stage, but needing five sets to take out Belgium 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 25-19, 16-25, 15-9) .
Opposite spiker Alessandro Alberto Bovolenta had 15 points, while middle blocker Nicolo Volpe and outside hitter Riccardo Iervolino had 11 apiece. Belgium’s Basil Dermaux had a fine performance in the loss, finishing with 32 points.
Iran secured the top ranking in Pool E with a clean sweep and maximum points after defeating Bulgaria 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23). Opposite Amir Mohammad Golzadeh finished with 21 points for the Iranians, while Bulgaria star Aleksander Nikolov scored 23. The result put Iran ahead of the Bulgarians on the table.
Poland wrapped up their Pool E campaign with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-18) sweep of Thailand. Opposite Aliaksei Nasevich had 18 points for the Poles, while outside hitter Kittipong Sangsak had 12 to lead the Thais. Both sides are already out of medal contention and will contest for fifth-to-eighth places.
In the consolation pools, India and Mexico claimed their first wins of the championship, while the Czech Republic completed a sweep of this stage, as did Canada, who beat hosts Bahrain.
The Canadians scored maximum points in Pool G with their 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 29-31, 25-18) decision against the home side. They are now headed for the ninth-to-12th classification games, while dropping Bahrain to 13th to 16th. Outside hitter Spencer Grahame top scored for the Canadians with 14 points, while Sayed Hashem led the Bahrainis with 20.
India will be joining Canada in contending for ninth after ending their winless run with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-13) result against Tunisia. Outside hitter Aman Kumar had 18 points, all in attack, while middle blocker Sachin Dagar added 12. Captain Adem Elmeddeb had seven points to pace the Tunisians.
Mexico, meanwhile, beat the US 3-1 (25-18, 26-24, 20-25, 25-22) in Pool H, although both teams were already out of contention for ninth. Outsider hitters Cabrera Jorge Ariel Hernandez and Eduardo Gonzalez Castro Ramon top scored for the Mexicans with 17 and 12 points, respectively. Dillon Klein had 20 markers for the Americans, who are the only team yet to taste victory in the tournament.
The Czechs made it three wins from three matches in Pool H with their 3-1 (25-13, 25-18, 15-25, 27-25) victory against Egypt. Opposite spiker David Kollator had 25 points, including five service winners, for the Czech Republic while outside hitter Jiri Benda added 17. Skipper Zyad Mohammed was Egypt’s top scorer with 20, 19 in attack. Both the Czech Republic and Egypt are to battle for ninth overall.
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