Men's U21 World Championship 2023

Canada, Czechia, Egypt await fourth contender for ninth place

Bahrain, Tunisia and India still in the race to join them

Published 07:30, 12 Jul 2023

Egypt (EGY) vs. Mexico (MEX) men - Pool H #5760676

Egyptian players celebrate

On Wednesday, Canada, Czechia and Egypt booked their spots in the foursome to continue the race for the ninth place after the second pool stage of the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Men's U21 World Championship in Bahrain. The hosts, Tunisia and India are still in the race for the second vacancy in Pool G to be decided on Thursday, the last competition day of the phase.

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Pool G

Canadian players celebrate

Canada grabbed their second win in Pool G of the second phase of the World Championship, which by the end of the day proved sufficient for advancement. They delivered a 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-12, 25-21) victory over India, with outside hitter Kaden Schmidt once again producing the match high of 24 points, including two blocks and an ace. Opposite Mills Brendam added another 20 points, including a block. Outside Aman Kumar was India’s most productive player with three aces and 13 successful spikes. India are still winless in five matches played at Bahrain 2023.

Bahrain (BRN) vs. Tunisia (TUN) men - Pool G #5776039

Tunisia’s Mahdi Ben Tahar on the block against Bahrain’s Hasan Warqaa

Hosts Bahrain engaged in another five-set battle. Another victory would have propelled them to the ninth-place semifinals. However, this time it was Tunisia who claimed their first win in the pool to stay in contention and also keep India within reach. The Africans celebrated a 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-12) victory on the wings of 18 kill blocks, seven of which authored by middle Mahdi Ben Tahar. He led the winners on a total of 23 points, followed by Khaled Bouallegue with 18. Bahrain’s Sayed Hashem Ali was the best scorer of the match with 28 points, including two aces. His teammate Husain Ehsan added another 21 points.

Pool H

Egypt’s Zyad Mohamed spikes past Mexico’s block

Egypt started the second competition day in Pool H with a 3-1 (25-12, 25-15, 22-25, 35-33) victory over Mexico, their second in the pool. The fourth set of the match was particularly exciting. Mexico recovered from a five-point deficit and refused to surrender easily pushing the set deep into overtime. They denied as many as nine Egyptian match points and wasted a couple of set points of their own before the Africans could finally celebrate the victory at 35-33. Egypt’s opposite Zyad Mohamed led the scorers with 26 points, including two aces and three blocks, while middle Abdelrahman Mohammed impressed with five kill blocks towards a 10-point tally. Opposite Angel Ivan Dominguez Carrillo was Mexico’s best scorer with 21 points, including three blocks and an ace.

Czech Republic (CZE) vs. USA (USA) men - Pool H #5761268

Czechia’s David Kollator in attack

Czechia hammered out a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-17) shutout of United States to make sure both they and Egypt, on a 2-0 win-loss record each, book their spots in the semifinal tier for the ninth place ahead of Thursday’s third-leg matches in the pool. Czech opposite David Kollator was the best scorer of the match with 14 points, including an ace and a block. Outside Dillon Klein led USA with 13 points, all in attack. The only other player on the court to reach the double digits was Czech outside Jiri Benda with 10 points.