Undefeated Trentino and Foolad take first semifinal spots

Two of the four spots in the semifinals of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship 2024 were taken on Wednesday, the second day of pool play in the tournament held in Uberlândia, Brazil.

Italy’s Itas Trentino and Iran’s Foolad Sirjan Iranian secured their second victories at the Sabiazinho Arena and are guaranteed in the medal rounds of the event, while Italy’s Cucine Lube Civitanova and Egypt’s Al Ahly SC fight for the second spot in Pool A and Brazil's Sada Cruzeiro, Iran's Shahdab Yazd and Argentina's Ciudad Voley compete for a place in Pool B. Hosts Praia Clube are only team already out of contention.

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Five-time world champions Trentino got their second sweep in Brazil by beating Ciudad 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-16) with 12 points from American opposite Gabi Garcia and another 11 from world champion outside hitter Alessandro Michieletto. Ciudad’s opposite Germán Gómez was the match’s top scorer, with 13 points.

“I’m happy that we used a different lineup today and still managed to have a good performance,” Garcia reflected. “Everyone that got to play today made the most of the opportunity and this match will get us prepared for the upcoming ones, which will be even more important.”

With six points and no sets dropped, Trentino are not only guaranteed in the semifinals, but also confirmed in first place in the pool.

In the last match of the day, Shahdab upset Sada Cruzeiro, winning 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 24-26, 27-25) to keep both their and Ciudad's hopes alive. Former Iranian national team opposite Amir Ghafour played an excellent match, producing 23 points (19 kills, two blocks, two aces). Both he and outside hitter Usman Faryad, who tallied 22 (21 kills, one block), eclipsed Sada Cruzeiro's captain and Olympic champion opposite Wallace de Souza, who led his side with 21 (18 kills, three aces).

The race for second place in the pool will continue over the next two days, with Sada Cruzeiro set to face Trentino on Thursday, at 20:30 local time (23:30 GMT), and Ciudad and Shadab scheduled to clash on Friday, at 17:00 local time (20:00 GMT).

Despite the defeat, Sada Cruzeiro remain in second place and control their own faith - a 3-0 win over the Italians will put them into the semifinals. Shadab need the Brazilians to drop at least one set against Trentino to remain alive. Ciudad's chances are slim as they need the Sada Cruzeiro to lose to the Italians in straight sets and to take all three points against the Iranians to have a chance of advancing in the tie-breakers.

Men's Club World Championship - Match Schedule and Results

Foolad win another one

Less than 24 hours after they stunned Lube in their debut, Foolad returned to the court and secured another win in Uberlândia, beating Al Ahly 3-1 (19-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-19). With the result, the team got to five points in Pool A and is guaranteed in the semifinals.

Opposite Ali Hajipour delivered another strong performance, leading the team with 23 points (19 kills, three blocks, one ace). Outside hitter Alireza Abdolhamidi came next with 13 (ten blocks, three aces).

The Iranians can confirm the first place in the pool ahead of the semifinals on Thursday, when they complete their schedule against Praia at 17:00 local time (20:00 GMT).

Lube, with four points, and Al Ahly, with three, will compete for the second spot in the semifinals. The teams will meet on Friday, at 20:30 local time (23:30 GMT), and the winners will advance.

On Wednesday, Lube gave a strong answer to their opening-match upset against Foolad, handling Praia in three sets to win 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 28-26) and boost their chances of advancing. Bulgarian outside hitter Aleksandar Nikolov led the team’s offense with 16 points (13 kills, two aces, one block).

“This was a very important victory, which puts us back in contention after we lost the first match,” Nikolov said. “I liked how we reacted after today’s loss and didn’t give our opponents much of a chance in the first two sets, even if they were playing at home. I felt we relaxed a little bit in the third set, but still managed to win at the end.”

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