Austria
By beating Macedonia and Kosovo in the penultimate round in Pool A, both Latvia and Austria, respectively, remained in contention for No.1. Latvia have upper hand knowing the fact they have three points and one win more compared to Austria before their mutual encounter in the last round. Latvia are at 15 points and a 5-0 record; Austria are at 12 points and a 4-1 record. Thus, Austria need to score a straight-set win on the road in Jelgava to earn a Final Four ticket.
„We will give our best. We don’t have any influence on what happens in the other pool whatsoever. Regardless of whether it’s enough for us in the end, we are very satisfied with the improvement of the team. I have always said that the European League is a very important preparation for the European Championship qualification, which starts in August. Then we want to be at the top level,“ Austria head coach Michael Warm said before leaving for Latvia.
He added that he will have all players at the disposal for a decisive match, including the national team star Alexander Berger who recently underwent his wisdom tooth removal.
As for Pool B, current No.1 Belarus and No.2 Croatia enter last round with completely equal chances to claim the top spot. Both sides have 12 points 4-1 records.
Croatia missed the opportunity to make their chances significantly bigger by losing to Belarus by a 3-1 in the penultimate round at home.
In the last round, both will seek for the Final Four spot in away matches, Belarus against Hungary and Croatia against Albania.
The situation is quite interesting before the last round when it comes to both pools. There is a possibility that each of the top two teams in the two pools collects 15 points and 5-1 records at the end! According to the regulations, pool leaders plus the best second-placed team throughout both pools will advance to the Final Four whose hosts Macedonia have already secured their berth.
To see complete results, stats, and standings, visit our Silver European League 2018 / Male / Seniors page.
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