Four teams chasing their second wins in tight Pool B
Preview
After three competition days, the situation in Pool B of the men’s CEV EuroVolley 2023 is quite tight. Five of the six teams have one win on their record, and four of them will hit the court at the Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna on Friday in search of their second victories. Finland and Slovenia will get the fourth competition day started at 17:30 local time. Croatia and Spain will follow three hours later.
Finland had an awesome start to the competition, hammering out a straight-set win over Croatia on Wednesday. In front of the hundreds of Finnish fans that travelled to the Black Sea coast to support their team, it put up quite a fight against pool host Bulgaria on Thursday, but ended up losing in four sets.
Supported by a small, but colorful and noisy group of fans, Slovenia has played only one game so far. On Wednesday, it came back from a set down to subdue Ukraine in four.
Finland leads the head-to-head record against Slovenia, having won nine of their 15 previous encounters. The last time it did so, however, was some 10 years ago, back in 2013. Slovenia won the three most recent meetings with Finland: twice in the 2017 FIVB World League and once at EuroVolley 2019.
Joel Banks“We have to stay positive after the game with Bulgaria and invest everything we have in our recovery since we lost much energy, both mentally and physically. So we need to quickly recharge our batteries and be ready for Slovenia.”
Head coach of Finland
Ziga Stern“The Finns have a young team and are hungry to prove themselves. They will certainly try to do everything to make our job as difficult as possible. We, on the other hand, have to enter the match with confidence and take the initiative right from the start. If we add to that a focus on the game, we have nothing to fear.”
Outside hitter of Slovenia
After the disappointing start on Wednesday, a straight-set loss to Finland, Croatia recovered on Thursday in a five-set game against Ukraine. Despite the injury of their starting setter Tsimafei Zhukouski during the first set, the Croatians came back from a set down twice in the match and went on to celebrate a 3-2 victory.
Spain delivered the biggest surprise in Varna so far. In the Pool B opening match on Tuesday, in front of packed stands, it handed host Bulgaria a four-set defeat, which has likely boosted the Spaniards’ appetite for more victories.
Croatia has won the five most recent encounters with Spain, four of them last year. In the 2022 CEV European Golden League, the team from the Balkans beat Spain in four sets at home and in five sets away, and then defeated them twice more at the 2022 Mediterranean Games. The last time the team from southwestern Europe won against this opponent was at the 2019 European Golden League, when it hammered a 3-0 victory in Croatia, only to lose the return match in four sets at home.
Tino Hanzic“Behind us is a big team victory. We finally broke the ice. It was a team game and everyone gave their best. Against Spain, we will go the same way, with team spirit and our heads held high towards another victory.”
Outside hitter of Croatia