Egypt, Brazil and Italy go undefeated to the Round of 16

Only three – Egypt, Brazil and Italy - of the 16 national teams competing at the 2024 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U17 World Championship will enter the tournament’s elimination rounds undefeated after pool play came to an end in Sofia on Monday.

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On Tuesday, seven Round of 16 matches will be held, with two starting at 11:00 local time (8:00) – Belgium vs. Tunisia and Spain vs. Cuba -, another two at 14:00 (11:00) – Brazil vs. Libya and the Chinese Taipei vs. Puerto Rico -, one at 17:00 (14:00) – Argentina vs. Bulgaria – and two at 20:00 (17:00) – Italy vs. Mexico and Iran vs. Chile. The eighth duel, between Egypt and Uzbekistan, will not happen as the Asians didn’t make it to Sofia and with that, the Africans advance directly to the quarterfinals.

Pool B: Egypt at the top after five-set battle

The fiercest battle for first place happened in Pool B, where Egypt and Iran fought for five sets until the Africans prevailed 3-2 (25-19, 25-22, 19-25, 25-27, 15-13). Khaled Elfeky and Ahmeh Yassin Jr. were the top scorers for Egypt, with 22 (19 kills, three blocks) and 20 (15 kills, three aces, two blocks) points, respectively.

“It was a very difficult match, but we played well,” Elfeky commented. “We want to get to the upper level and continue to play well and win.”

Iran got 20 points (19 kills, one ace) from outside hitter Abdollahifar Kamyab and another 18 (16 kills, two blocks) from middle blocker Asiaei Armin.

“It was a good match, a hard match,” said Iran’s middle blocker and captain Taha Mohseni Bababdani. “We lost the game, but it doesn’t matter. We will focus on our next match.”

In the other match of the pool, Tunisia overcame Libya 3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-21) to advance in third place. Tunisian outside hitter Mefteh Jasser led the winning side with 15 points (12 kills, three aces), but the match’s top scorer was Libyan opposite Muezbillah Balnnour, who produced 22, with 16 kills, four aces and two blocks.

Pool D: Brazil move forward with a clean record

Pool D winners Brazil were the only national team to navigate pool play without dropping sets. On Monday, they completed their pool campaign with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-12) victory over Belgium. Outside hitters Lucas Carvalho, with 19 points (16 kills, three aces), and Bruno Marques, with 14 (ten kills, two blocks, two aces), led the South Americans in another sweep.

Because of Uzbekistan’s absence, Chile were awarded a forfeit victory and earned their first win in the tournament, moving into the Round of 16 in third place.

FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U17 World Championship: match schedule and results

Pool C: Italy come from behind to beat Argentina

Pool C also had two undefeated teams meeting on the final day of pool play and Italy overcame a first-set loss to come back and defeat Argentina 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-19) to take first place. Captain Manuel Zlatanov stepped up to lead the Italian comeback, producing a match-high 23 points (19 kills, two blocks, two aces). Outside hitter Benjamin Flores scored 18 (14 kills, four blocks) for the Argentinean side.

Puerto Rico were third in the pool as they prevailed 3-0 (26-24, 25-14, 25-18) in the Caribbean derby against Cuba to secure their first victory in Sofia. Outside hitter Gustavo Alvarez was instrumental in their victory, contributing 16 points (14 kills, two blocks), two more than Cuban opposite Yosdany Medina.

Pool A: Spain lose, but still finish first

Pool A was arguably the most competitive among all four as three teams ended their campaigns with two wins. Spain lost to the Chinese Taipei 3-2 (25-20, 25-23, 14-25, 22-25, 15-12) on Monday, but the two sets won were enough to keep them in first place with seven points to six of the Asians. The Chinese Taipei’s opposite Huang Pin-Yen had another excellent performance, registering 29 points (26 kills, three blocks), six more than Spanish captain César Irache, who had 22 kills and one block.

Later, hosts Bulgaria got to two wins and five points thanks to a 3-1 (25-17, 25-21, 19-25, 25-15) triumph over Mexico. Outside hitter Aleksandar Dobrev led the Europeans with 17 points (14 kills, three blocks), while opposite Emi Diaz tallied 13 for the Mexicans.

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