One day after securing second place in group D, with the victory over Turkey, Portugal learned who will play the round of 16 match next Saturday.
Ukraine, third in group B, is Portugal’s next rival in the European Volleyball Championship, in a round of 16 match to be held next Saturday in Varna, Bulgaria.
One day after securing second place in group D with a victory over Turkey, Portugal learned on Tuesday who was third in group B, based in Bulgaria, with the host team, Spain and Ukraine still in the running.
Ukraine’s 3-0 victory over Spain, and Slovenia’s victory over Bulgaria, also 3-0, dictated a three-way tie, in win/loss terms, at 2/3.
Also in points, the three were even, with six for each one, making it necessary to resort to the global balance of sets, with Ukraine having 10/11, against Bulgaria 8-11 and Spain 6/11, surprisingly eliminated. along with Finland, bottom of the group.
Also on Saturday in Varna, Slovenia plays against Turkey, which on Tuesday learned that it is fourth in group D.
At the crossroads of groups B and D, the round of 16 matches to be played in Varna are France-Bulgaria and Romania-Croatia on Friday, and Portugal-Ukraine and Slovenia-Turkey on Saturday.
Turkey overcame Monday’s defeat against Portugal well and this Tuesday clearly beat Israel, 3-0, with partial scores of 25-23, 25-13 and 25-17.
Against Greece, which is last, France, first, also won 3-0, with 25-19, 25-22 and 25-17.
France closes with four wins, ahead of Portugal and Romania, who added three, the difference between them being the balance of sets.
Turkey secures fourth place with the same number of victories as Israel, two, but with eight points compared to four for its rival, thanks to the two tangential defeats it achieved. After having beaten only Portugal, Greece closes the accounts of the group that played in Tel Aviv.
The Portuguese team is present for the seventh time (1948, 1951, 2005, 2011, 2019 and 2021) in a final phase of a Eurocup, the third in a row.
The 2023 edition of the European Volleyball Championship is organized by Italy (current world and European champion), Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Israel and will run until September 16. The semifinals (September 14) and the final (September 16) will take place in Rome.
Source: Observadora
