Poland are set to start the defence of the back-to-back world titles they won in 2014 and 2018 in front of their home fans on Friday, when the top-ranked team in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Rankings face European rivals Bulgaria in their opening match at the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship.
Men's World Championship 2022
Poland and Bulgaria to clash on World Championship Day 1
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Published 10:00, 26 Aug 2022
The Poles got the better of their Bulgarian rivals when the two teams met at the VNL in June
Two of Europe's most experienced national teams, Poland and Bulgaria will meet in the last match on the opening day of the 20th edition of the tournament, set to start at 20.30 local time (18.30 GMT) at the Spodek Arena, in Katowice.
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The Poles, who are returning seven players from their 2018 team, and just two from 2014, have one of the strongest rosters in the World Championship, despite the absence of star outside hitter Wilfredo Leon, who has not recovered in time from knee surgery.
Head coach Nikola Grbic, who took over at the start of the season and could become the fourth different coach to lead Poland to a world title, will rely on opposite Bartosz Kurek, the Most Valuable Player of the 2018 edition of the tournament, outside hitters Kamil Semeniuk and Aleksander Sliwka, middle blocker Mateus Bienieck and libero Pawel Zatorski to lead the team.
The Poles have been solid under his guidance, taking bronze at the 2022 Volleyball Nations League and winning last week’s Hubert Wagner Memorial, where they defeated potential World Championship opponents Argentina, Iran and Serbia in straight sets.
“We’ve been preparing for a long time to be at our best level right from the start,” Grbic said. “This is the biggest tournament of the season for us, and we can see there’s a lot of attention from fans and the media. We need to use this environment in our favour and not as a source of pressure, which could potentially become a problem for our team. We’re really looking forward to getting a great deal of support from our fans.”
Poles and Bulgarians met earlier this season, during the Preliminary Phase of the VNL, over two months ago, and the two-time defending world champions won in straight sets.
The Bulgarians, however, will have two reinforcements for the first match in Pool C, including star opposite Tsvetan Sokolov, who was rested during the VNL and is now back with the team, and outside hitter Todor Skrimov, who recently returned from injury during exhibition matches against Canada.
With the 33-year-old Sokolov on board, 18-year-old rising star outside hitter Aleksandar Nikolov and 31-year-old Skrimov, head coach Nikolay Jelyazkov has reason to believe his team could upset Poland in front of their home fans.
“Poland is at the highest level, we all know that,” he commented. “To think that we are the favourites would be wrong. They are the favourites, but we have the qualities to beat them. If we give our best, we can do it. There are no unbeatable teams and we’ve been able to show a very high level of play in some moments, we just need to build from them. We served well at times against Canada and I think that could be a skill that makes a difference for us.”
Bulgaria are the national team who have made the most appearances at World Championships, having missed just one edition. They have earned a place on the podium five times, most recently in 2006, with one silver (1970) and four bronze medals (1949, 1952, 1986 and 2006).
There are five other matches on today's schedule, including another in Pool C between the United States and Mexico at 17.30 local time (15.30 GMT).
The four remaining matches will be played in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The Pool B duels reunite Brazil and Cuba, at 11:00 local time (9:00 GMT), and Japan and Qatar, at 14:00 local time (12:00 GMT). Pool D encounters include France against Germany at 17:30 local time (15:30 GMT), and Slovenia against Cameroon at 20:30 local time (18:30 GMT).
