The German volleyball players caught a difficult group at the World Championships in the Netherlands and Poland. Everything you need to know about the tournament.
The mode
The hosts of the World Cup tournament are the Netherlands and Poland. The opening game will take place on September 23rd, the final will take place on October 15th. 24 teams take part in the final round. There are four groups of six teams each. The top four teams in each group advance to the second round.
There are two groups, each with eight participants. The teams take the points from the first round with them. The four best teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, which starts with the quarter-finals.
The usual international scoring applies. In a 3:0 or 3:1 win, the winner gets three points, the loser gets nothing. A 3:2 scores two points for the winner and one for the loser.
The German opponents
National coach Vital Heynen’s team will meet Bulgaria in Arnhem on September 25th. Other opponents in the difficult Group C are Olympic champions USA and world champions Serbia as well as Canada and Kazakhstan. Heynen sees the group as “The strongest of the tournament, with two absolutely world-class teams battling to win their group. Canada, Bulgaria and Germany will be the three teams battling to progress.”
The form of the German team
The team won the final endurance test before the World Cup and put on an impressive comeback. In the last dress rehearsal, the team defeated Brazil, who came second at the Olympics, 3:2 (23:25, 16:25, 25:21, 25:19, 15:13). Germany was already 0:2 behind in Berlin, but then managed to catch up. However, the team missed out on reaching the final round of the Nations League in July.
The favourites
Olympic champion USA and world champion Serbia are the top favorites for the title. China, Italy, hosts the Netherlands, Brazil and Japan certainly also have a chance.
The German team is not one of the favorites. Captain Jennifer Janiska emphasized that the team at the World Cup “clearly survive the preliminary round” wool.
The importance of the tournament for coach Heynen
Heynen sees the World Cup as an important step on the way to the 2024 Olympic Games “We’re playing well and we feel like we’re a team that says after the World Cup that was just step one”said the Belgian. “The Big Goal”explained Heynen, “is to be back at the Olympics in three years”.
The German volleyball players last took part in the games in 2004. The World Cup result “Whether we finish seventh, 16th or 23rd is important, but the most important thing is that the team says yes, we’re going to the Olympics.”
German performance at World Cup tournaments
Since 1974, Germany has always been present at the World Cup, which is held every four years. The greatest success was fifth place in 1994. In 2018 in Japan, the team failed in round two.