Red Dragons fly on with straight sets against Finland

Belgium made it to the last eight of an FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship for the first time in 55 years! Back in 1970, they achieved their best result in the history of the competition by finishing eighth. Now, at Philippines 2025, they will at least match that. On Sunday in Pasay City, the Red Dragons shut out Finland in eighthfinal number four and will once again take on Italy, whom they beat in the pool stage, in one of the two quarterfinal matches set to take place on Wednesday, September 24.

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In the first set of the match, Belgium wiped out a four-point Finnish lead, before sprinting with four points in a row in the money time to take the set on a successful swing by outside hitter Mathijs Desmet for the winning point. The western Europeans were well in control of the scoreboard for most of the second set and doubled their lead, with Desmet once again closing the set, this time with a pulverizing overpass kill. The northern Europeans managed to catch up with Belgium several times during the third set, but the Red Dragons generally stayed in control until 22-year-old opposite Ferre Reggers put an end to the match with a block-out hit and got the Belgian party started at a final score of 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-21).

Several factors tilted the outcome Belgium’s way in this game. They outattacked their opponents by 42-36 in spike kills. They completely outblocked the Finns by 8-1 in stuffs and, in addition, they capitalized on the far too many unforced errors the northerners made – 25 against 18. Spiking at a 56% success rate, Reggers delivered 18 points, to which he added two kill blocks and once again emerged as the best scorer of the match, with a total of 20 points. Outside hitter and captain Sam Deroo registered a 52% success rate in offense and impressed with four kill blocks to finish with a total of 19 points.

“Of course, this win was super important! We are in the best eight of the world! That says enough… I think the team did a really good job, especially in the third set. We have got to give Finland credit. They tried everything to break our rhythm and they came back to 10-10, but we managed to stay cool in our heads and take the win home,” Deroo told VBTV after the game. “I think it is normal to be nervous. We have a lot of rookies, so if even I as a veteran am nervous before this kind of games, that means that young guys are obviously even more nervous. And we played for a spot in the best eight of the world, and that’s not an everyday thing. And now again, we will play with nothing to lose against Italy, so let’s go! Confirming is always tough. In sports, one upset is golden, two upsets of the same team is not easy, but we are going to give everything for it. That’s for sure!”

Finland outperformed Belgium from the serving line, producing four aces against none from the match winners. With one of those under his belt and 13 kills in attack at a 57% success rate, opposite Joonas Mikael Jokela was the only Finnish player to reach the double digits in the match, with a total of 14 points.

“Of course, now the first feeling is disappointment, because we had a great tournament and we wanted to continue, but Belgium was really strong today. It was a tough day, but I am proud of these guys. They have an amazing future ahead. They are really young, still with a lot to learn… So, yes, I am proud,” said Finland’s experienced setter Eemi Tervaportti.

The eighthfinal round in Pasay City continues on Monday at 15:30 local time (07:30 UTC) with an all-European duel between Bulgaria and Portugal, followed by a mighty clash between USA and Slovenia at 20:00 (12:20).

2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship: full schedule and results

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