In Pool D in Katowice, the French National Team was so close to shutting the doors of the elimination stage to itself in Round 2 game versus The Netherlands.
There was no doubt on how much France depend on Earvin Ngapeth. Once again, he showed that the EuroVolley champions are one team without him and totally another team with him on the field.
When Ngapeth was sitting on the bench (just like in the opening match against Belgium), France struggled a lot and had 1-2 in sets. The moment he stepped in, the „Team Yavbou“ started to play more powerful and turned the course of the game into their favor, 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 21-25, 30-28, 15-12).
Ultimately, Ngapeth collected 8 points, killing the Dutch side with the smile on his face in the tie-break, while Stéphen Boyer topped France with 23 points. Nimir Abdel-Aziz noted 24 for The Netherlands.
Today’s schedule, Round 2:
POOL B
Slovakia vs. Italy 0-3 (14-25, 19-25, 20-25)
Czech Republic vs. Germany 0-3 (19-25, 14-25, 20-25)
POOL D
Turkey vs. Belgium 2-3 (22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-27, 16-18)
The Netherlands vs. France 2-3 (22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 28-30, 12-15)
See STATS & VIDEOS from EuroVolley 2017 M.
Subscribe to have full access to WoV PROFILES, STATS, and WoVVIDEO.
Receive email notifications about players’ or teams’ latest STATS and VIDEOS.
Discover what’s new in a volleyball world.
0 comment
In my opinion Ngapeth is highly overrated in this article. Despite the fact that he makes unconventional actions, he is not the game changer for team France. His numbers aren’t better or worse than his colleagues. France with Ngapeth were very close to losing the match in set 4.
The real powerhouses are Toniutti and Grebennikov.