Qualifications for the European Championship 2011

Right well f Horstink didn't play it makes a little more sense....

I wouldn't jump t the conclusion about Peter Blanche. They probably faced a well motivated Portugal and were too nervous themselves.. I know they have a lot of high expectations and they probably feel like they can make anymore mistakes after not qualifying for the World Championships... kinda the same thing the Dutch women had when they didn't qualify for Bejing. It's all part of the process.

As for opposites.. I don't know, but they probably both played.

Yes! Slovakia - Belgium: 1- 2
Verhanneman scoring easily, great defence by the rest of the team.

Belgium looking good yeah! I hope they win! Don't kow why.. just cuz they should! Like Holland should've!

Statistics Netherlands X Portugal

http://www.cev.lu/mmp-cgi/show…ate=p_prj_game_stat&key=0

Dick Kooy and Rauwerdink didn't play well..i hope that they can play better tomorrow ..

I think that Belgium has a nice future...they have a lot of young players like Verhanneman, Van Walle, Van de Voorde, Verhees,Klinkenberg, Kruyner...they need to play more international games to become a strong team

Quote from B. Moreira

Statistics Netherlands X Portugal

http://www.cev.lu/mmp-cgi/show…ate=p_prj_game_stat&key=0

Dick Kooy and Rauwerdink didn't play well..i hope that they can play better tomorrow ..

Netherlands serve didn't work

Quote from B. Moreira

I think that Belgium has a nice future...they have a lot of young players like Verhanneman, Van Walle, Van de Voorde, Verhees,Klinkenberg, Kruyner...they need to play more international games to become a strong team

yeah Sam Deroo and Bram Van den Dries are also becoming very good

that volleyball school is doing a good job

Yeah wouldn't worry about Belgium, they've got this covered. I hadn't seen Verhanneman play yet, but he definitely impressive.

I agree about Holland's serve... which generally has been our weakness. Kooy is probably kind of a risc as well...as he seems to have huge potential, but not a lot of experience... plus he's pretty arrogant.. or he seems that way anyway and arrogant people is generally, great or crap.

Quote from HeeelMooi

Yeah wouldn't worry about Belgium, they've got this covered. I hadn't seen Verhanneman play yet, but he definitely impressive.

I agree about Holland's serve... which generally has been our weakness. Kooy is probably kind of a risc as well...as he seems to have huge potential, but not a lot of experience... plus he's pretty arrogant.. or he seems that way anyway and arrogant people is generally, great or crap.

I think that Netherlands have very powerful serve and when it works they can smash the opponent. I remember the first set in WCH qualification against Bulgaria, it was devastating. The problem is to balance the power and the risk. The players in Bulgaria with the most balanced serve are Zhekov, Bratoev, Nikolov - the last is the best.

Macedonia defeated Sweden
http://www.cev.lu/mmp-cgi/show…ate=p_prj_game_stat&key=0

Quote from raylight

I think that Netherlands have very powerful serve and when it works they can smash the opponent. I remember the first set in WCH qualification against Bulgaria, it was devastating. The problem is to balance the power and the risk. The players in Bulgaria with the most balanced serve are Zhekov, Bratoev, Nikolov - the last is the best.

Yeah I agree.. there is no balance. It really is all or nothing. There's too many players that have a really good serve one day and the other day it's just nothing. We need to have some kind of plan B. Or just wait till the players get mentally tougher. And yeah perhaps have a few players with a balanced serve, instead of only one.

"Suomi" delights many fans in Riga with classy performance against Greece

Luxembourg, May 21, 2010. The second round qualifiers for the 2011 CEV Men’s European Championship had a tremendous start on Friday afternoon with quite a few thrilling matches. In Riga the Finnish team of coach Mauro Berruto delighted many fans that had traveled there from Helsinki with a hammer performance (3:0) against Greece. The local heroes of Latvia did also not disappoint the audience with their 3:1 win over the Great Britain. Elsewhere, Slovakia suffered a sad loss in Poprad against Belgium after a shaky performance in reception caused many unforced mistakes.

Pool A in Maribor (SLO)

Spain vs. Israel 3:0 (25-22, 25-22, 26-24)
Slovenia vs. Hungary 3:0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-16)

2007 European champion Spain is considered as the main pre-favorite in Pool A. However, the opening match against Israel was not as easy as it was supposed to be, because Israel was more than a decent opponent, especially in the first set, maintaining the pace of the Spaniards up to the second technical time-out. Later on Spain changed gear and bagged that set. In the second set Spain led the operations with real command and that section of the game was over in 26 minutes. But in the third set the Israelis played with all their hearts, making less mistakes and the Spaniards really had to fight hard to leave the court as the winners of that game.
Later in the afternoon the home team of Slovenia entered the court as the real favorite of the match against neighboring Hungary. Although the home coach was not so sure about the final outcome of the opening match for the Slovenian team, the hosts walked away with a solid 3:0 in about one hour of play. The Slovenians literally crashed their opponents in the first set with a mighty 25-9 and the Hungarians never really and completely recovered from that shocking loss, so the local coach tried out some young players in the third set who performed pretty well too.

Pool B in Riga (LAT)

Greece vs. Finland 0:3 (19-25, 20-25, 18-25)
Latvia vs. Great Britain 3:1 (25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 25-16)

In the first game of Pool B Finland cruised past Greece in three sets. Mikko Oivanen scored 22 points for the Finns, while Konstantin Shumov contributed 17 more to the Finnish count. Greece’s best performer this afternoon was Nikolaos Smaragdis with 11. In the second game the local heroes of Latvia celebrated a splendid 3:1 victory (25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 25-16) against Great Britain. Hermans Egleskalns topped the charts of the best scorers for Latvia with 19 points. Ansis Medenis played very well too and contributed 18. After the match Latvian coach Raimonds Vilde said that the home team was more stable than the British squad and he was expecting a different match from the opponents: "In fact, Great Britain surprised me, but the main thing is that we won the game. Of course in the beginning of the game my guys were a little bit excited, but I think, it quickly ended. I am happy that today I could feel that in the team there was a good atmosphere and we displayed a strong, aggressive serve. I hope that tomorrow against Greece we can play even better”. British head coach Harry Brokking believes that his team during these past years has signifcantly grown: „Three years ago we could not play, but now we can play with teams such as Latvia. And we are continuing our work, hopefully they will learn from this game and be able to control themselves. After the result of the third set we were so pleased that forgot to play in the fourth set”.

Source: CEV

Pool C in Poprad (SVK)

Bosnia & Herzegovina vs. Ukraine 1:3 (17-25, 25-18, 23-25, 19-25)
Slovakia vs. Belgium 1:3 ((24-26, 25-22, 21-25, 23-25)

In the opening game of Pool C Ukraine defeated Bosnia & Herzegovina in four sets. The players from Ukraine started the game very well. They took an early lead (9:4) and controlled the match. The Bosnian players had problems with their reception which were mainly descending from the good servings of the players in yellow jerseys. Bosnia tried to find a way back, but Ukraine played good especially with their stars from the Polish PLUS Liga Gladyr and Kapelus. The first set went to Ukraine 25-17 when Gladyr successfully blocked an attack by the opponent team. The first two points of the second set went to the Ukrainians, but then Bosnian blocker Dalibor Micic came to the serving area and the players from the Balkan region turned the score into a 7:2 in their favor. The Bosnian players got some real confidence and they hold the lead for a long time. At the second technical time-out it was 16:11 for them. Bosnia won the second set 25-18 and the match started again. The third set was full of ups and downs. Ukraine led 7:5, then Bosnia was 11:9 ahead. Both teams fought and played good in defense, so the spectators could admire long rallies. Ukraine made mistakes and Bosnia led 16:13 at the second technical time-out. But then Gladyr came to serve and Ukraine leveled at 17. In the final part of the set the Bosnian players made many mistakes and lost the third set 23-25. The fourth set was the last in this match. Ukraine dominated from the beginning to the end and won the set 25-19 and the match 3:1.
In the second game Belgium caused a major upset for the local fans in Poprad as Slovakia lost that match 1:3. Belgium started the match better and led 4:1 as middle blocker Verhees did a good job on the net. Slovakia made a lot of mistakes on service and Belgium led 8:5 at the first technical time-out. Belgium held a 3-point lead for the next part of the set, but then Richard Nemec hit an ace, Kmet blocked an attack of the opponent and it was only 14:13 for Belgium. The home guys started to play better in defense and after nice blocks from Martin Nemec and Kmet Slovakia went ahead 16:15. The dominance of the home team continued and it was suddenly 18:15 for Slovakia. Later the score went to 21:18 for Slovakia, but Belgium closed the gap to one point - 21:20. The final moments of the set were very thrilling. Belgium prevailed when captain and setter Frank Depestele hit an ace for the 26-24. The beginning of the second set was close. Both teams had some breaks, but the score was 8:7 for Slovakia at the first technical time-out. Later Slovakia led 11:8 after a nice action by opposite Martin Nemec. Slovakia was on fire, but than made mistakes what Belgium used to level the score at 12. The high quality match continued. After a very good service turn of Divis Slovakia went ahead 15:13 and then 16:14 for the second technical time-out. Then Slovak spiker Sopko smashed a bomb service and Slovakia extended the gap to 20:16. Later it was 22:18 for Slovakia, but Belgium came back to 22:21 and the head coach of the home team Emanuele Zanini stopped the game with a time-out. Slovakia managed to win the second set 25-22. The third set was extremely close. Slovakia led 5:3, but suddenly it was 5:5 and then both teams collected point after point - 10:10, 13:13. Both teams had no problems in reception and therefore also attacked well. A thrilling match continued. Belgium went ahead 17:15, but after two huge blocks by Richard Nemec Slovakia 18:17 in the front. But then the Belgians clawed back, spiker Verhanneman pushed with his service and Belgium turned the score into 23:19 in their favor before the final 25-21. The first break of the fourth set went to Belgium and after mistakes by the home team the score was 12:8 for the visitors. Belgium dominated in this set and the score moved up to 20:13. But Slovakia hit back and after two successful spikes by Sopko the margin of the guests stood at only two points - 18:20. But Belgium collected the next three points collected, Slovakia hit back with good service of Sopko and closed to 22:23, but finally Belgium won the set 25-23 and the match 3:1.
"It was a very close game. We risked a lot and that lowered the level of the game. Then we understood that we should not make so many mistakes. That’s why we made a break in the fourth set, which made the difference in the game," said head coach of team Belgium Claudio Gewehr. Captain Frank Depestele added: "I think it was a game full of mistakes and we made probably less mistakes. Our teams didn’t know each other very well. It will be a hard game with Ukraine and Bosnia as well. It was an important victory for us and we are happy and satisfied that we won”.
"My congratulations are addressed to the opponent team. They played very well. It was not a surprise for us, we expected that. They had a very good performance in the service and we had big problems with the reception. It was a close match but they reacted more dynamically than we did and we made several mistakes which helped them to score” said the head coach of team Slovakia Emanuele Zanini. Captain Michal Masny added: "Congratulations to Belgium. We had big problems with our reception. It’s a pity that in the third set when we had the chance to win by several points we made several mistakes and we didn’t play properly. It cost us several important points. In the fourth set we tried not to panic and play our game and we managed to do well but the Belgians played better and won the match."

Pool D in Bar (MNE)

Croatia vs. Montenegro 0:3 (16-25, 21-25, 19-25)
Germany vs. Estonia 3:0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-19)

Montenegro’s men’s national team started its European campaign in front of the home crowd in Bar with a 3:0 victory against Croatia (25-16, 25-21, 25-19). Today’s second match ended also in a 3:0 with Germany outclassing Estonia (25-22, 25-17, 25-19). The tournament in Bar is being held in the sports hall “Topolica” and will last until Sunday. It is the first of two tournaments that are being played for the second round of the qualifications for the next European Championship. The other one will be organized in Germany next May 28-30. The first placed team, after six matches, will directly qualify for the final round of the 2011 European Championship, while the second placed team will go into barrage against the second placed team from Pool F, starring the F.Y.R. of Macedonia, Sweden, the Netherlands and Portugal.

Source: CEV

Pool E in Ankara (TUR)

Turkey vs. Romania 3:0 (25-21, 28-26, 25-17)
Italy vs. Belarus 3:1 (25-22, 25-19, 19-25, 34-32)

In the opening match played in front of 3’000 spectators, the local heroes of Turkey totally outclassed Romania in three straight sets (25-21, 28-26, 25-17). The Turkish “lions” started the game with a convincing series of attacks and their reception was solid as well. In spite of this rush start, Romania led the way at the first technical time-out (7:8). The teams put up a delightful fight for the many spectators in the majestic “Baskent” sports hall and Turkey turned the score around for the second compulsory break at 16:14. Bogdan Olteanu fought bravely to close the gap but Turkey always maintained a slim margin before finally closing at 25-21. With the loud support of their fans and many flags being waved on the stands, the Turks displayed a classy performance in the second set. After they had enjoyed a narrow lead for the first technical break (8:6), Romania clawed back with some good serving and tied at 12. Cristian Chitigoi brought Romania to the front at 20:21, but after a tie at 23 Romanian coach Stelian Moculescu asked for a break. That was not enough to cope with the efforts of the hosts who sailed away for the 28-26 and the provisional 2:0 in the set count. The home team kept the right tempo also in the third set. Croatian-born coach Veljko Basic seemed pretty relaxed as his guys clipped an 8:4 lead for the first technical time-out. With some stellar play, the hosts extended their margin (12:6) and Serhat Coskun was literally flying on the court with his attacks. Romania attempted a last comeback but did not succeed and the match ended in a 3:0 for Turkey, a wonderful present for the many local Volleyball fans.
In the second match of the opening day Italy cruised past Belarus after a fierce battle that lasted for four sets. The match started off as a real fight, with Italy leading the way at the first technical break (8:6). The Italians made a huge effort to widen the gap and that resulted in a provisional 16:12 for the “Azzurri”. Belarus tried to storm back via Akulich but it was too late and Italy clipped the first set 25-22. The Italians opened the second set in great fashion with three attacks in a row of veteran Luigi Mastrangelo for a reassuring 8:2 at the first technical break. Setter Valerio Vermiglio commanded with real confidence his spikers (16:9), while Fei and Savani bagged some more rallies for the final 25-19. The Italians could not maintain that same tempo in the third set: Belarus went ahead 15:12 and with a solid performance moved the set count to 2:1. The guys from Minsk slowed down in the opening of the fourth set (8:3 for Italy at the first compulsory break), but then the final section of the game turned into a battle for every single rally; after a long struggle and having missed several match balls, Italy put an end to this game at 34:32 to bag the first victory in this European campaign.

Pool F in Skopje (MKD)

The Netherlands vs. Portugal 0:3 (20-25, 22-25, 18-25)
Sweden vs. F.Y.R. of Macedonia 1:3 (20-25, 25-20, 16-25, 13-25)

The Dutch national team suffered a major upset this afternoon in Skopje as the guys coached by former Olympic champion Peter Blangé lost 0:3 their opening match against Portugal. With superstar Robert Horstink being unable to join the “orange” team for personal reasons, the Dutch did not display their best performance at all. The defeat, although quite a real surprise, is not yet a disaster since five matches are still to be played before fixing the final standings of that Pool. On Saturday the Netherlands will seek for immediate revenge against Sweden.

Source: CEV

Quote from burak-ı naz

Pool E in Ankara (TUR)

Italy vs. Belarus 3:1 (25-22, 25-19, 19-25, 34-32)

Oh, pity that Belarus lost... I wish they had more players like A.Akhrem.

Alleh Akrem, Marcus Nilson, Igor Omrcen, Liberman Agamez - these are all giants from small villages, sentenced to no glory with their NT despite their huge talent

European qualifiers, Ukraine stands out as real surprise of second competition day

Luxembourg, May 22, 2010. The qualifiers for next year’s CEV Men’s European Championship continued on Saturday afternoon with some more exciting matches. Latvia and Finland continue their perfect run in Pool B being played in Riga as Portugal as doing in Skopje (MKD) for Pool F. Italy and Turkey are likely to battle for the leadership in Pool E whereas Pool C continued to provide some unexpected results, with Ukraine scoring a 3:1 victory against Belgium, just one day after the guys around coach Claudio Gewehr had caused a major upset to the hosts of Slovakia.

Pool A in Maribor (SLO)

Spain vs. Hungary 3:1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-21)
Israel vs. Slovenia 0:3 (21-25, 15-25, 19-25)

Although Spain was considered as a clear favorite in the first game on schedule for day 2, Hungary did their best and quite surprisingly the guys from Budapest clipped the first set – mainly via the excellent serving and well performed attacks. But Spain recovered in the second set, slowly but definitely, and turned the score around in the final minutes after a few Hungarian mistakes. The third set was much more in favor of the team from Spain, just in the decisive fourth set Hungary played better again, but again lost the set in last minutes after making some crucial mistakes.
Later in the afternoon the local heroes bagged their second victory in the Pool with a 3:0 against Israel. Again – just in the first set the score was somehow equal, with the Israelis resisting to the well motivated home team. In the second set Slovenia displayed a brilliant performance, especially with excellent reception and defense, enabling the attackers to score regularly. The Israelis did show some more will in the third set, but losing contact to the high spirited Slovenians after the second technical time-out. “That was an excellent tactical win today” said local head coach Vuković, giving emphasis to the good reception and serve of his players.

Pool B in Riga (LAT)

Greece vs. Latvia 2:3 (23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 13-15)
Finland vs. Great Britain 3:0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-19)

Latvia and Finland claimed their second victory on Saturday afternoon at the “Arena Riga”. Latvia stormed back after a shaky opening in the match against Greece to delight the local fans with the final 3:2 victory. Best scorer for Latvia was Hermans Egleskalns, who clipped 18 points for his team, while Armands Celitans added 12 points to the final count. Best scorer for Greece was Nikolaos Roumeliotis who totaled 20 points. After the match Latvian coach Raimonds Vilde was rather laconic: "I feel the joy of a great victory! It is still difficult to analyze the game, because the emotions are still too intense. Now the most important thing is to concentrate on the game we’ll play tomorrow against Finland”. Later in the afternoon Finland stamped another 3:0, this time against Great Britain. Their Italian coach Mauro Berruto commented: “In this kind of tournaments it is important to win with the best possible score. We won two games with a 3:0, it is good, today’s second game ended in a 3:2 which is good for us. Tomorrow there will be the key match of this tournament”. Best scorers for Finland were Antti Siltala, Mikko Oivanen and Konstantin Shumov with 10 points each, Mark Plotyczer squeezed in with 17 for Great Britain.

Pool C in Poprad (SVK)

Belgium vs. Ukraine 1:3 (28-30, 25-18, 19-25, 28-30)
Slovakia vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina 3:0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-21)

Ukraine stays unbeaten after two days in Poprad with a 3:1 victory against Belgium. Oleksandr Statsenko hit an ace for the first break in favor of the Ukrainian team (3:1). However, Belgium leveled immediately the score at 3 after a successful block. Both teams trailed point for point with their reception working very well and therefore also their attacks were pretty strong. Ukraine led the way 8:7 at the first technical time-out. With a very powerful Volleyball the Ukrainians extended slightly their margin (12:10) but then middle blocker Mykola Rudnytskyi made and error and the score was even again. The decisive moments of the first set came later. Ukraine made two unforced errors and the score was 22:19 for Belgium. It was not enough to call it over and Ukraine leveled the score at 23 after a nice block of Rudnytskyi. The thrilling first set finally went to Ukraine 30:28 after a great triple block. The second set started better for Belgium that was 8:6 ahead at the first technical time-out. The players from Ukraine produced mistakes in this part of the match and the score moved up at 11:6 for Belgium. The score stood at 16:10 at the second technical time-out, Belgium controlled the next part of this set and clipped it 25-18. In the third set Ukraine started very well. The guys from Kiev were good in block and attack and led 8:3 at the first technical time-out. Belgium tried to find a way back, but they produced a lot of mistakes and the score moved up to 14:7 for Ukraine; however, Belgium cut the gap to 12:16 and fought for a comeback in this set. But the Ukrainians were able to hold the lead by 3 points and controlled the operations for the final 25-19. Belgium did not give up and started to play smart in the first part of the fourth set. They built an early lead 8:5 and controlled the game. Captain and setter Frank Depestele made some nice moves and Belgium led the way 16:12 at the second technical time-out. It looked like the game would have gone to the fifth set, but Ukraine came back from behind and leveled the score at 20. Ukraine got the right momentum and they used it for the next point - 21:20. In the *money time” Ukraine missed one match point and then Belgium turned the score into a 25:24. But Ukraine finally won the set 30-28 and clinched its second victory in this tournament. Belgian coach Claudio Gewehr said after the match: “Ukraine played very well. Congratulations to them. They had a very good game. They took some risks in the service and this helped them a lot. For us it was a hard fight today. We depended so much on our defense. Sometimes we did well but in other moments they played a little bit faster than us. So I think this made the difference. They deserved to win”.
After the disappointing performance against Belgium, Slovakia displayed a solid performance this afternoon in Poprad outclassing Bosnia & Herzegovina in three sets. The first break of the match went in favor of the players from Bosnia who led first 3:1 and then 5:3. But then Slovak middle blocker Tomas Kmet hit two aces in a row and Slovakia went ahead 7:5. Strong service from Martin Nemec caused big troubles to the opponents and as the Slovak opposite scored two aces in a row, the score moved to 10:6 the home team. The local guys dominated the scene in every aspect of the game and after the next huge block the score went up to 13:7. The Bosnian players produced a lot of mistakes under the pressure of Slovakia and the hosts squeezed in with a quick 25-14. The home team dominated also early in the second set and after a smart move of spiker Martin Sopko the score stood at 5:1. Later Sopko hit four aces in a row and Slovakia led the way 11:3. The Bosnian players looked a little bit confused and Slovakia crushed them with no excuses. Spiker Sopko hit the next three aces and the score was 16:3! Slovakia controlled the game and head coach Emanuele Zanini even substituted some players from the starting line-up to give them a rest (25-9). Slovakia dominated also the opening of the third set and led 8:4. But then Bosnia fought back, Dzombic hit an ace and suddenly the score stood at 12:11 for the guests. Slovakia lost concentration, started to produce unforced errors and Bosnia led 16:14 at the second technical time-out. But Slovakia wanted to finish the job in three sets and after some nice blocks by Kmet and Jakubov, the home team went ahead again 19:17. Bosnia leveled the score at 19, but finally Slovakia won 25:21 and clinched the first victory in Poprad. Bosnia’s coach Nikola Matijaševič said after the match: “Today I saw just one team on the playground. We played not like the juniors, but even like cadets. I just want to say sorry to the audience in Poprad. For me as a coach it has been the worst match ever”. Slovak captain Michal Masný: “It was an important victory for us especially without losing a set. I think we completely dominated the match. In the third set there were some mistakes because the opponent risked in their serving turns. We got some aces but we ended the set properly. It will be a hard match tomorrow. Ukraine has a good team and we have to prepare, mostly mentally. We will try to win”. Slovak coach Emanuele Zanini added: "Today it was a strange match. Our opponent caused us problems only in the third set. It was probably because there was a lack of concentration in my team”. Bosnia’s captain Sanjin Bezdrob: “We played really bad. I don’t have very much to say. Congratulations to the Slovak team. You played really well”.

Source : CEV

Pool D in Bar (MNE)

Montenegro vs. Estonia 2:3 (22-25, 15-25, 25-21, 25-22, 12-15)
Croatia vs. Germany 0:3 (21-25, 20-25, 19.25)

This afternoon in Bar Montenegro didn’t manage to score a victory against Estonia. The guys of coach Radovan Malević were defeated in the match against the Estonians after practically two hours and fifteen minutes of game. The crucial moment came in the fifth set with the score standing at 9:8 when the Montenegrin players didn’t manage to use a free ball and gain a significant advantage in the very final rush of the game. After three consecutive services of Kreek, the Estonians got a slight margin that resulted in the defeat of the Montenegrin national team. The first set went on with two teams alternating in the lead up to the result 15:15 with their advantages never exceeding two points. The Estonian team gained its first solid advantage at 15:18, but Montenegro managed to even up and leveled at 19 and 21 and that is where the Montenegrin team stopped its run. The Estonian team won this set with three consecutive points. There was no dilemma in the second set since the last tie was at 5:5 and the second technical time-out for the Montenegrin team meant displayed a gap (9:16) that was impossible to close. The third set became the one that made the difference and gave this match a particular flavor. The Estonian team was leading at the first technical time-out (7:8) after which the Montenegrins activated their block and at the second technical break they had 4 points of advantage (16:12). When the scoreboard was showing 21:15, it was clear that at least one set more was going to be played. The two teams arrived at the first technical time-out of the fourth set with two points of difference in favor of Estonia (6:8) while this difference changed to one point at the second mandatory break (15:16). Point after point there was a tie at 22, before Montenegro tied the set count. The Estonian team started the fifth set much better and had two points of margin (1:3 and 2:4). The Montenegrin team changed the situation with a couple of good attacks and stormed to the result 5:4 and managed to maintain that advantage until the change of sides. The first point after that, maybe the one that decided the game, was won by the Estonian team. Šuljagić didn’t manage to use the free ball and claim another point for the 9:7, but Venno did so and the result was 8:8. That is when the Estonian team won two points in a row and that advantage was no longer reachable for the local guys.

Pool E in Ankara (TUR)

Romania vs. Italy 0:3 (16-25, 21-25, 13-25)
Belarus vs. Turkey 0:3 (27-29, 19-25, 25-27)

The second competition day at the Başkent Sports Hall in Ankara started with a classy performance for Italy in a quick three-setter against Romania. Italy entered the match with the right pace (8:6) but after the first mandatory technical time-out Romania played with all their hearts to catch up in the score. That was not enough and Italy extended the lead up to 16:9 for the second technical break. The Italian blocks continued to stop the attacks of the Romanians and it was 12:21 for Italy when Romanian coach Stelian Moculescu took his second time-out. Italy finished the set pretty easily (25-16) and continued to set the tempo also in the second section of the game (8:6). The Italians took a lot of risks in serving and they made some mistakes. Still they were ahead in the score (16:12) and the attacks of Cristian Savani were extremely effective (25-21). Romania’s Cristian Chitigoi helped his team but Italy didn’t give any chance to extend the game to a fourth set. After the first technical time-out (8:5) Italy continued to enjoy the lead all the way through. Romania could not resist to the rhythm of the Italians and the set ended at 25-13 for the final 3:0.
Turkey claimed a second victory in Ankara, this time with a 3:0 against Belarus, to maintain the leadership in the standings of the Pool. After having lead 8:6 at the first technical break of the first set, as soon as Ender entered the game, he motivated his team scoring a few consecutive points. It was a very tough day for Belarus in Ankara with thousands of spectators cheering loudly for Turkey. The youngest player of Turkey, Burutay, showed a good performance with his effective attacks. After the provisional 20:19 for Turkey, the hosts scored 5 more points to finish the set and to put the spectators at ease. Belarus took the last time-out when the score stood at 27:26 for Turkey. Burutay hit the last point of the set for the final 29-27. Another killing attack of Burutay opened the second set. Turkey’s coach Veljko Basic took his first time-out in order to fire his boys to come-back to the game. Belarus’ attacks were much better in this second set and the guests were ahead 8:6 when the first technical time-out was called. With a few consecutive attacks the “Lions” leveled the count and then sped up to 16:13. Even though Belarusian Busel was very effective in attack, this was not enough to stop the run of the hosts. With the loud support of their fans, the Turks completed their run in set three and could start the celebrations with many flags being waved in the hall.

Pool F in Skopje (MKD)

Sweden vs. The Netherlands 0:3 (21-25, 18-25, 17-25)
F.Y.R. of Macedonia vs. Portugal 0:3 (25-27, 18-25, 20-25)

In Skopje Portugal continues a marvelous run with another 3:0 victory, this time against the hosts of F.Y.R. of Macedonia. Through a solid victory over Sweden, the men of the Dutch team after the nasty taste of defeat against Portugal may somewhat flush. According to coach Peter Blangé the loss against Portugal on Friday was mainly due to the poor service and pass on his team. “In addition, Portugal had things well organized and they gave little away'' says Blangé. “Today we played better against Sweden but against Macedonia tomorrow should be even better. The host country is stronger than Sweden and in addition there are a lot of fanatical spectators in the stands”.

Source: CEV

I don't see Belarus and Croatia getting a medal from big tournament. Theoretically Croatia can do that if they play with Omrcen and steal from Italy Chernic and Travica, but in practice - no.