Co-hosts Poland will be looking to be the next nation to take advantage of a recent trend at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championships - a trend which has seen countries win three consecutive titles.
Men's World Championship 2022
Poland determined to win third consecutive title
The Europeans will attempt to extend their run of consecutive victories after claiming gold against Brazil in 2014 and 2018
Published 07:00, 22 Aug 2022
The trio of Bieniek, Kurek and Sliwka will be one of the strengths of the defending champions
The Poles, who won their first world title back in 1974, also topped the podium in 2014 and 2018, and will enter this year’s edition determined to become the third country in a row to win three consecutive titles.
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Until Italy's golden generation led by outside hitters Samuele Papi and Marco Bracci, middle blocker Andrea Gardini, opposite Andrea Giani and setter Ferdinando De Giorgi topped the podium in 1990, 1994 and 1998, no other team on the planet had won the World Championship three times consecutively, even if the USSR had won back-to-back titles three times in 1949/1952, 1960/1962 and 1978/1982.
The next three editions were dominated by Brazil, with outside hitters Gilberto ‘Giba’ Godoy Filho and Dante Amaral and middle blocker Rodrigo ‘Rodrigao’ Santana leading the South Americans to consecutive victories in 2002, 2006 and 2010.
If current FIVB Volleyball World Ranking leaders Poland manage to secure a third-straight title in 2022, they would do so, however, with a very different roster to the one which claimed gold back in 2014. Only middle blocker Karol Klos and libero Pawel Zatorski are still included in head coach Nikola Grbic’s selection for this year – and only the defender was part of the 2018 squad too.
With star outside hitter Wilfredo Leon still recovering from knee surgery, Grbic has named setters Marcin Janusz and Grzegorz Lomacz, opposites Bartosz Kurek and Lukasz Kaczmarek, outside hitters Tomasz Fornal, Bartosz Kwolek, Kamil Semeniuk and Aleksander Sliwka, middle blockers Mateusz Bieniek, Jakub Kochanowski and Mateusz Poreba and libero Jakub Popiwczak to be part of the team.
The Most Valuable Player in the Polish victory in 2018, the 31-year-old Kurek will be particularly important. With Leon absent, the opposite, who became the team captain after the retirement of Michal Kubiak last year, will be the main offensive weapon for the Europeans and also their best option in tough situations.
Poland have enjoyed a number of successes at the international level over the last few years. They won medals at the last three editions of the Volleyball Nations League (silver in 2021 and bronze in 2019 and 2022). They also took silver at the 2019 FIVB Volleyball World Cup and bronze at the 2019 and 2021 European Championships.
Grbic and his team will also have the advantage of playing at home, which was also the case in 2014. They will begin the tournament in Katowice and could remain on home soil during the entire event, potentially playing the Round of 16 and quarterfinals in Gliwice, before returning to Katowice for the semifinals and medal matches.
The Poles will face Bulgaria on August 26, Mexico on August 28 and the United States on August 30 in Pool C.
Their preparations for the World Championship include a match against Ukraine, participation in the Hubert Wagner Memorial (alongside Serbia, Argentina and Iran), and also a friendly match against the South Americans in Katowice.
