Israel to welcome the Olympic champs in a sold out Shlomo Arena
Preview
Halfway through the pool phase of 2023 #EuroVolleyM, the teams in Pool D in Tel Aviv are fully immersed into the battles that will give them the chance to continue their journey in the competition straight to the knock-out phase.
The fifth day of action in Shlomo Group Arena will feature another two exciting matchups - a Balkan derby between Türkiye and Greece, and a meeting between the home heroes of Israel against the reigning Olympic champions of France.
Check temporary standings in the group here.
Turkiye vs Greece 17:30 local time
Türkiye and Greece will get the ball rolling on Saturday in a match that is expected to become a real Balkan derby.
Surprisingly, Türkiye are still to claim a victory in Pool D, while their neighbours from Greece already did son against Portugal.
The two teams will enter the court in Shlomo Group Arena after having played in five-set matches on Friday.
And while for the Turks the final outcome wasn’t the expected one (2-3 loss to Romania), then the Greeks will start in the game inspired by the thrilling comeback they delivered against Portugal. The players of Dante Boninfante were losing two sets against the Portuguese players but, led by Dimitrios Mouchlias (28 pts. 60% exc.) were able to turn the tables and congratulate themselves with the win.
In the game against Romania, Türkiye suffered mostly because of their bad reception, but, on the other hand, if they are able to use once again Burutay Subasi successfully (19pts. 73% exc.), the mission on disappointing Greece might become an easier one.
Israel vs France 20:30h local time
Home heroes of Israel take on the reigning Olympic champions of France in the second match of the day in a sold out Shlomo Group Arena.
The two sides have already two victories in their pockets. The Israeli team disappointed Greece and Romania, while France claimed a win in the Pool D derby against Türkiye (3-0), and then outplayed Portugal.
Both of Israel’s wins came in after emotional tiebreakers, while France dropped a set only in the competition so far, losing it to Portugal at 3-1.
No doubts, France is the big favourite in the fixture against the hosts. However, the players of Itamar Stein have been showing great spirit, and supported by their fans, can become a challenge to Les Bleus.
Barthélémy Chinenyeze and Jean Patry have been France’s main “weapons” so far in the competition, leading the team with 25 pts. (3,75 average per set) and 23 pts. (4,6 average per set) in the two games so far.
On the other side of the net, Israel’s Ido David is topping the overall chart for Best Scorer with 49 pts.(4,9 average per set), followed on the third position by his teammate Tamir Hershko with 43 pts. (4,3 average per set).
In a tactical battle the head coaches of the two teams - France’s Andrea Giani and Israel’s Stein, will make sure the #EuroVolleyM fans in Tel Aviv will witness a great Volleyball spectacle.