The preliminary round duel against Slovenia was sobering for the German national volleyball team. Now the team can play against the World Cup hosts again.
The German volleyball players had hardly believed in the chance of a World Cup revenge. After a disappointing group stage at the finals in Poland and Slovenia, Poland coach Michal Winiarski’s team trembled through to the knockout stages only thanks to the involuntary help of the opposition.
In the round of 16 on Saturday (September 3rd, 2022) against European runners-up Slovenia, the Germans, who had no chance at 0: 3 in the group final, were suddenly able to make amends. In the first group game, the German team lost 3-0 to France, followed by a smooth 3-0 win over Cameroon.
“Have Nothing to Lose”
“The nice thing about a tournament like this is that you only ever look at the next game. Everything that was or what our opponents showed before counts for nothing anymore.”said Winiarski. “We were almost eliminated and now we have nothing to lose, so let’s throw everything in.”
At least the mood among the Germans has changed a bit. After the smack against the highly concentrated Slovenes, captain Lukas Kampa drew a relentless interim conclusion. “It is difficult to find diplomatic words. The honest answer is that we are not able to play our volleyball under certain circumstances in a certain state of stress”said the frustrated player.
Far from a surprise
The bankruptcy in front of 12,000 spectators in Ljubljana could, at best, be a lesson in how to do things better. “It’s definitely going to be another real away game in such an atmosphere, but we mustn’t stress about it and we have to play to our capacity. It will be extremely difficult to win, but we should at least improve our performance and put Slovenia under pressure.”said DVV sports director Christian Dünnes.
Grozer’s absence hurts
The repetition of the 2014 World Cup coup, when the Germans sensationally won bronze, is naïve wishful thinking. Finally, an attacking superstar like Georg Grozer, who is pausing in this final round, is missing for outstanding results.
A significant increase in performance and maybe even a surprise against the Slovenes are not excluded. And then in the quarterfinals the winner of the game Netherlands vs Ukraine would be waiting. For a team that has already been eliminated, these are tempting prospects.