Germany
After the matches in Serbia (3:1 and 2:3) Heynen was impressed by the game of his team, saying: “We have played impressively in Serbia, with this level we could play against anyone and make very clear situation on the Pool.”
German team has five points less than the current second-placed Russia, but German team has also completed two games less. With two victories against the Olympic champion, the dream of the second final appearance after 2012 would be possible. German team is under big pressure and Heynen is questioning which players to send to Frankfurt.
No later than Thursday, Heynen will announce his 12-squad team. In the meantime he is asking her fans for the support: “We need support from everyone in order to make a real miracle. If we make it to the final tournament, that would be a much bigger surprise than it was the 5th place in London.”
The German squad:
Setter: Lukas Kampa (Modena / ITA), Patrick Steuerwald (Generali Haching)
Middle blocker: Marcus Böhme (San Giustino / ITA), Tim Broshog (Moers SC), Philip Collin (Tours / FRA)
Receiver: Denis Kaliberda (Piacenza / ITA), Dirk Westphal (Roeselare / BEL), Tom Straw Bach (Generali Haching)
Opposite: Jochen Schöps (Rzeszow / POL), Christian Fromm (Citta di Castello / ITA), Simon Hirsch (Generali Haching)
Libero: Ferdinand Tille (Generali Haching), Markus Steuerwald (Paris / FRA)
The World League
The 18 participating teams will be divided into six three-phase groups. The preliminary round will be completed in five double game days. The top two finishers of Groups A and B, the winner of Group C and host Argentina will take the final tournament in Mar del Plata in Argentina from July 17 to 21.
The group classification (in brackets the world ranking)
Group A: Brazil (WR 1), Poland (WR 4), United States (WR 5), Bulgaria (WR 8), Argentina (WR 9), France (WR 15)
Group B: Russia (WR 2), Italy (WR 3), Cuba (WR 6), Serbia (WR 7), Germany (WR 10), Iran (WR 14)
Group C: Canada (WR 18), Japan (WR 19), South Korea (WR 24), Finland (WR 30), Netherlands (WR 36), Portugal (WR 36)
The German game plan
07./09.06 ITA – GER 3:0 & 3:2
22./23.06 GER – Cubs in Bremen 3:0 & 3:1
29./30.06: SRB – GER 1:3 & 3:2
05./06.07: GER – RUS in Frankfurt (each 20.00 clock)
12./13.07: IRI – GER in Tehran (each 14.30 clock)
The current table *
1 ITA – 17 Points – 21:11-sets – 6-2 Win
2 RUS – 16 Points – 20:11-sets – 6-2 Win
3 SRB – 12 Points – 17:18-sets – 4-4 Win
4 ENG – 11 Points – 13:11-sets – 3-3 Win
5 IRN – 7 – point-sets 11:15 – 2:4-victory
6 Cubs – 3 points – Phrases 6:22 – 1:7-victory
* For a 3:0 – and 3:1-victory winner gets 3 points, the winner of the loser in a 3-2 receives 2 points, 1 point.
To read more news from this competition click on World League 2013 M.
