World champions Brazil became the first team to qualify for the Olympics when they defeated Russia in the men's World Cup Volleyball tournament yesterday.
With a 25-22, 25-22, 25-18 victory over the Athens Olympic bronze medalists, Brazil chalked up a ninth win against one defeat to secure one of the top three places in the 12-team round robin competition.
The top three finishers in the tournament qualify for the Beijing Olympics next year.
PHOTO: AFP
"Even if we lose tomorrow, we've already qualified, because one of the two teams [either Russia or the US] will get three defeats," Brazil coach Bernardo Resende said.
He said he thought the fact that his team lost its first match in the tournament -- a surprise loss to the US -- may have helped them.
"It was the first time we lost the first match in a big tournament. We lost to the United States and we won the 2002 world championships. We also lost to them in the Olympics and we won the Olympics," Resende said. "We lost to France in the world championships last year and we won. Maybe this team needs something like that. In the first match, there's a lot of pressure, so a lot of things happen."
"But my players always responded so well, so we have to continue to put on them pressure. That's the most important thing as the champions. So I'm very happy to have a team like this," he said.
As for the match, Dante Guimaraes Amaral said the key to their victory was that they could handle the Russian serves.
"Russia are one of the best teams in the world who have so many big servers. Our strategy was to control their serves. When we had several big chances, we took them and we got into our rhythm. That's why we won today," Amaral said.
Brazil take on Japan today to defend the World Cup.
Bulgaria, the US and Russia were fighting for the remaining two Olympic berths.
US captain Thomas Hoff said he hoped his squad could continue their strong play after beating Argentina 25-16, 25-19, 25-18 to improve their win-loss record to 8-2, the same as Russia's.
"I think we came out with a great level of execution in all aspects of our game. Defensively we were extremely efficient. Both sides, offense and defense, were very good," Hoff said.
In other matches, European champions Spain defeated South Korea 25-22, 25-17, 28-26, while African champions Egypt downed Tunisia 25-21, 18-25, 25-21, 25-22.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two
RSS