Spain against Ukraine in crucial battle for survival
Preview
In a direct battle with each other, Spain and Ukraine will decide which of them will book the last of the four tickets from Pool B to the eighthfinals of the men’s CEV EuroVolley 2023 and which will have to start packing. On Tuesday’s last competition day in Pool B at the Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna, they will take to the court at 17:30. Already qualified Slovenia and host Bulgaria will meet at 20:30 to finalize the exact pool standings ahead of the next round match-ups with the teams from Pool D.
Spain is currently fourth in the standings on a 2-2 win-loss record and 6 points. After squeezing out its first win of the tournament on Monday, Ukraine is still bottom of the table on 1-3 and 3. To advance to the eighthfinals, Spain needs to win at least two sets against Ukraine. Otherwise, Ukraine will move up to the top four of the pool and progress to the next round.
The last time these two teams met was in their two fixtures of the 2022 CEV European Golden League. Ukraine won both: 3-1 and 3-0. Before that, in 2014, they met in two EuroVolley qualification matches and Spain took away two four-set victories.
Miguel Fornes“For sure, I expect a really difficult game against Ukraine. All the teams that are here fight to stay and I think that Ukraine is a really good team in attack. I think they will push a lot in service and we need to prepare our system in block-defense to try to stop them.”
Middle blocker of Spain
Ugins Krastins“We don't have options for the match against Spain besides going with full strength and giving our maximum for a mandatory win.”
Head coach of Ukraine
Both Slovenia and Bulgaria are already qualified for the eighthfinals. The undefeated Slovenians (4-0 and 12) are even sure to finish on top of the final pool standings, while the home team, currently third on 2-2 and 6, will be looking for the best possible placement somewhere between second and fourth.
Bulgaria shut out Slovenia the last time they met in this year’s Volleyball Nations League to put an end to Slovenia’s four-match winning streak in official head-to-head games, which started at EuroVolley 2019 and went through VNL 2021, EuroVolley 2021 and VNL 2022.
Klemen Cebulj“Of course, we’ll go for the win against Bulgaria, because we really want to confidently stay on this winning streak. It will be another tough match as our opponents are playing in front of their own crowd and we know very well that it's a huge advantage. I believe it is going to be a nice match, which we will enjoy.”
Outside hitter of Slovenia
Martin Atanasov“We have a very tough match ahead against the leader. There is nothing that can be done on our side besides giving our best. I hope that we will play a great game with the support of our fans.”
Outside hitter of Bulgaria