2022 FIVB World Championship – Quarterfinals Preview
After 62 matches in the first and second round between 24 top teams, the FIVB World Championship enters the final stage, with eight teams qualifying for the final round to compete for the title. In this article, we will have a preview of the quarterfinals which will be played on 11 October 2022.
Italy (1E) vs China (4E)
Italy won over China in straight sets in the second round of the competition. Overall, they had a record of 8 wins out of 9 matches in the first and the second round of the competition. Their libero Monica de Gennaro is currently leading in the leaderboard of best diggers, with a total of 123 digs in the competition.
Meanwhile, China has a record of 7 wins out of 9 matches in the first round and second round of the competition.
“I am so happy we won this match and made it to the quarterfinals, and I would like to thank all the players for the effort,” commented Gong Xiangyu after team China won the match against Belgium and secured a spot in the quarterfinals. “We will forget about the past results and prepare and treat each match seriously no matter which opponent we are facing.” Gong continued when being asked how she felt about facing a quarterfinal opponent that had beaten China in the pool play.
The match will be played on 11 October, 17:00 (GMT +02:00).
Brazil (2E) vs Japan (3E)
Brazil has a record of 8-1 (win-loss) in the first and second round of the competition. The only team they lost was against their quarterfinal opponent Japan when they lost 1-3.
Their middle blocker Ana Carolina da Silva is currently leading in the leaderboard of best blockers, with 44 block points in the competition.
Meanwhile, Japan has a record of 7-2 in the first and second round of the competition.
The match will be played on 11 October, 20:00 (GMT +02:00).
Serbia (1F) vs Poland (4F)
Serbia has qualified for the quarterfinals as the only undefeated team in the tournament, winning all nine matches in the first and second round. In this tournament, the reigning champion won Poland in straight sets in the second round.
“Getting to the quarterfinals undefeated is great, but we know that not losing matches becomes far more important from now on. The three most important matches are ahead of us and I feel we’re very strong right now.” Opposite Boskovic made the following comments after the last game against Türkiye.
Meanwhile, Poland has 6 wins from 9 matches in the first and the second round. It is the first time for the co-host to finish inside the top 8 of the competition since 1962 when the team got bronze.
The match will be played on 11 October, 20:30 (UTC +02:00)
USA (2F) vs Türkiye (3F)
The USA won Türkiye 3-1 in the second round of the competition. Overall, they have 7 wins out of 9 matches. Their opposite Andrea Drews is leading in the leaderboard of best servers, having a total of 15 points from serves.
Meanwhile, Türkiye has 6 wins from 9 matches in the competition.
The match will be played on 11 October, 17:30 (GMT +02:00).
(Featured image source: Internet)
(Written by Boris CHUNG Bok Man)