With three wins from the first three games, the German volleyball players presented well at the European Championship. But now two really tough opponents are waiting.
The schedule was kind to the German team at this European Volleyball Championship. Three supposedly easy opponents at the start of the tournament and then two top-class opponents at the end of the preliminary round – all in all a favorable constellation.
And Germany has delivered so far. The team of national coach Michal Winiarski clinched clear 3-0 victories against Estonia and Switzerland. There was also a win against Belgium in the end, albeit narrower. After a weak start, Germany made up for the 0:2 set deficit and won 3:2. This meant that the first stage goal was reached ahead of time, entry into the round of sixteen.
First against Serbia, then against Italy
Who the Germans will meet in the knockout stage will now be decided in the games on Tuesday (9 p.m.) against Serbia and against Italy on Wednesday (6 September, 9 p.m.), because that’s where the crossover pairing continues. The first in group A meets the fourth in group C.
An increase in performance will be necessary even against the Serbs. The Eastern Europeans, ranked ninth in the world and thus one place above the Germans, were also unscathed in the preliminary round – apart from the clear 0:3 defeat against the top favorites and hosts Italy.
Serves as a sticking point
If the Winiarski team wants to survive against the Serbs, the serves have to be better in any case. “We weren’t able to exert enough pressure with our serves at first,” criticized national player Ruben Schott, who, like his teammates, always serves with a lot of risk. This is also proven by the numbers: while Belgium only made 21 serve mistakes, the Germans missed 44 serves and made life so difficult for themselves.
Things only got better when Winiarski brought on two new players, Johannes Tille and Denys Kaliberda. The two should therefore also be an option against the Serbs. However, Germany could also score against the Eastern Europeans with strong blocks.
Strong blocks against Belgium
For their part, the Serbs were not really strong in blocks in the clear defeat against Italy, and only scored four block points in total. Germany, on the other hand, collected a strong 21 block points against Belgium, while the Serbs only managed five block points against Belgium. This could be a big advantage for Germany.