Pool D Preview: Tough battle for qualifying places in Tallinn

The draw for the pools of the CEV EuroVolley 2023 Women looks to be kind to the Netherlands, who will be overwhelming favourites to secure the first place in Pool D and improve their chances for a medal, being the most experienced of the six sides composing the pool which will be played in Tallinn.

Between the six sides in the pool, the Dutch team is the only former champions, securing their title in 1995, while also clinching the silver medal in 1991, 2009, 2015 and 2017, as their most recent result was a fourth place at the CEV EuroVolley 2021 Women, when they lost the bronze medal match against Türkiye in straight sets.

The Netherlands are clearly the team with the largest experience in the pool, having won 98 games so far in the European premium competition, with only two wins needed to hit the 100-win mark, which looks to be quite an achievable objective in a pool where they are due to start all matches as favourites.

They are also the only side in the group to have featured this summer in the 2023 FIVB Women's Volley Nations League, where they finished on the 12th place, with five wins and seven losses in the preliminary pool, snatching a 3:0 win against Poland, which underlined their potential.

In fact, the Dutch side has a positive balance against Estonia and Spain at the CEV EuroVolley Women, winning all matches against them, but they have lost four matches against France, the largest number of matches won by France against any opposition in the competition.

Indeed, France look to be the team which can sneak through from the second place in the group, judging from recent performances. Two years ago, at the CEV EuroVolley 2021 Women, in only their eighth appearance in the competition, they made it through to the quarter-finals, where they lost against Serbia, 1:3, but earned their best-ever finish, the seventh place.

They do have a positive balance against other opponents they face in Tallinn, including hosts Estonia, who will be coming in full of confidence after winning the CEV Volleyball European Silver League 2023 | Women in June, with a 3:2 win over Austria, in the final.

Sure, the competition will be tougher this time around, especially for a team that has lost all its matches played so far in the European premium competition, but featuring at home, in front of their own fans, might play a huge part for Estonia’s chances of becoming a clinical side and securing a place in the knockout phase.

It will be interesting to see just how much Estonia have progressed against teams like Spain, who will be making their third consecutive appearance at the CEV EuroVolley Women, having previously won six out of 32 games, with their best result coming in 2009, when they ended up on the ninth place.

Spain will aim to make to the next phase too, but the battle for the qualifying places looks wide open, probably the widest in all the pools in the competition. Finland can also spring a surprise or two, in spite of having won only three games so far in the CEV EuroVolley Women in their history, but one of them was against France, 3:1, in 2019, in the Pool phase.

Last, but not least, Slovakia will also make their sixth appearance at the CEV EuroVolley Women, having secured only six wins so far, with one of them coming against pool rivals Spain. With quite a level playing field behind the Netherlands, this group in Tallinn might be one for the ages, with plenty of twists and turns.