Brazi-vs-France
Even before the match against France in Pool 18, Brazil new they had a ticket for the Final Six in their pocket as Italy succumbed to Canada in the previous encounter in the same pool. Nevertheless, Brazil did not want to disappoint 7,500 own fans at the Ginásio Nilson Nelson in the country’s capital of Brasília and recorded the sixth successive win in the tournament: 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-23). Thus, the “Seleção“ sealed the top spot in the charts with 12 wins and one loss (33 points). Yoandy Leal top-scored for Brazil with 15 points, while Maurício Souza and Flávio Gualberto made 4 kill blocks apiece. On the other hand, France (No.4 at the moment, 9-4 and 28 points) will have to beat both Italy and Canada in the continuation of the last week to advance to the Finals.
Iran
Iran are also confirmed contestants in the Final Six after beating Serbia in Pool 19 in Varna (Bulgaria) by a 3-1 (25-23, 26-28, 25-22, 25-19). Driven by their best scorer in the tournament, and from this match the best-ever scorer in the Nations League Amir Ghafour, the Asian side reached 11-2 record and 33 points to settle at the No.2 in the standings. Ghafour poured in 25 points against Serbia to set a 200-point milestone in the 2019 VNL (207 points). He surpassed Milad Ebadipour’s total of 193 points in the last year’s edition of the tournament. Seyed Mousavi set up 4 kill blocks.
Italy-vs-Canada
Italy perfectly opened the match against Canada but have fallen in the next three to reduce their chances of going to the Final Six to a minimum. Now, these two teams leveled in the charts with a win-loss ratio of 8-5 but with Italy having two points more (25) and being one place in front of Canada in the standings (No.6). Now, both sides need to win the two remaining matches to have a mere chance of qualifying to the Finals. Stephen Maar led Canada’s way to a 3-1 (15-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-18) win over Italy, the team’s fourth straight success in the 2019 VNL, by scoring game-high 19 points.
Russia
By beating Australia in front of their crowd in Brisbane in Pool 17, Russia are only one step away from the Final Six. Despite arriving at a hotel 23 hours before the game, and after traveling for 42 hours (!), the “Zbornaya“ swept the hosts in straight sets, partially 25-20, 25-15, and 25-18, and remained unbeaten against Australia at major world level tournaments (13-0). Russia are third-placed in the standings (11-3 and 31 points) and need one more win to secure a spot in the Final Six. Denis Zemchenok tallied 15 points for the winning side.
Poland-vs-Japan
Thanks to Italy’s loss to Canada, Poland overtook their place in the charts as they beat Japan by a 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 27-25, 25-20) in Pool 20 in Leipzig (Germany). Poland are now at No.5 with a 9-4 record and 24 points. Maciej Muzaj notched 16 points, including 4 kill blocks, for Poland who are in a five-game winning streak.
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