Germany stun Japan in the first match of Paris 2024

There was plenty of excitement in the first match of the Paris 2024 Olympics men’s volleyball tournament as Germany and Japan battled for five sets at the South Paris Arena 1 on Saturday until the Europeans prevailed 3-2 (25-17, 23-25, 20-25, 30-28, 15-12) to upset the second-best men’s national team in the FIVB World Rankings.

The Germans entered the match ranked 11th in the world and moved one spot up with the 13.26 points they earned - they also collected their first two points in Pool C of the Olympic tournament. Japan got one point in the standings and continue in second place in the world rankings, but could be passed by Italy, France and Slovenia in the next few days,

The European triumph also brought to an end a series of six consecutive victories of the Asians in the encounter - their last defeat to Germany had happened ten years ago, during the 2014 FIVB World League.

“We always believed we could win,” German setter and captain Lukas Kampa commented. “We had some close matches in the last few years and they gave us the confidence that we can always turn things around. We prepared well to play this 9:00 match and the way we started showed it. It was a great win, but nothing changes for us, we definitely don’t consider ourselves favorites. We can enjoy the moment for now, but starting tomorrow we’ll prepare for the next one.”

Opposite György Grozer played an extraordinary match and was the top scorer with 24 points (15 kills, five blocks, four aces). Middle blocker Anton Brehme, who registered 15, and outside hitter Moritz Karlitzek, who came off the bench to add another 11, had solid performances for Germany as well.

“The match went exactly as we expected it would,” Karlitzek said. “We were confident we could fight one of the best teams in the world and we’re so happy that we won in the tie-breaker. They were better than us in some moments, but we just stayed in the game and tried to do a few things a little bit better. The level in our pool is really high and winning the first match was very important also in terms of making us feel good going forward.”

Blocking was a major factor for the German triumph as they outscored their opponents by 18 points to eight in that skill - Japan got the most aces (eight to six).

On the Japanese side, captain Yuki Ishikawa, with 22 points (21 kills, one ace), and opposite Yuji Nishida, with 20 (15 kills, three aces, two blocks), were the main scorers - outside hitter Ran Takahashi produced another 15.

“We certainly didn’t want to start the tournament with a defeat, but we still managed to win a point and I’m confident that will help us make it to the next round,” Ishikawa reacted. “I think our offense was very solid in the second and third sets and that wasn’t the case in the last two. Moving forward, we need to change our mindset and remain motivated for the next match against Argentina.”

Led by a strong serving performance by Grozer, who scored three aces in the first set, Germany had a remarkable start to the match, producing a 9-2 lead. Japan made several substitutions and had some good moments in the set, but couldn’t ever catch the Europeans, who prevailed 25-17 with a backcourt swing by their veteran opposite.

A monster block by Nishida in the first play made things start differently in the second set, but Germany managed to take control again, scoring 12-9 in a kill by Brehme. Nishida leveled the score at 12 with an ace, but Grozer responded in the same way to give the Germans a 15-13 lead. In the end, Japanese stars Ishikawa and Ran stepped up, making defensive plays and scoring in big moments to give the Asians the 25-23 win.

The late comeback ignited Japan, which kept their pace at the start of the third set and were quickly ahead 6-2. The Japanese were able to rebuff each of Germany’s attempts to close the gap and kept their advantage stable at 14-10 with a swing by Ishikawa. The captain also scored the last point of the set by tooling the block and gave his team a 25-20 victory.

The two teams were even until the middle of the fourth set, when the Germans scored two in a row to get to 13-11. The Asians immediately responded and regained control when Nishida scored 15-14 hitting from the backcourt, but the Europeans went on a four-point scoring run with Moritz Reichert at the service line to get up 17-15. An Ishikawa ace brought the difference down to a single point (19-18), but the Germans played better in overtime to secure a 30-28 victory and force a tie-breaker.

A trickle ace by Reichert got the fifth set going and the Germans built from it to go on a run and get an 8-4 lead early on. Nishida, who had been subbed off during the fourth set, came back to the court and delivered, bringing the difference between the team down to one point at 8-7. Germany got another good run and produced the separation they needed to take the set 15-12 with Karlitzek and the match in five.

Paris 2024 – Match Schedule and Results

Germany will be the first of the two teams to return to action as the Europeans are set to face the United States on Tuesday, at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT). Japan will have an extra day to prepare for their next encounter as they don't get on the court until Wednesday, when they meet Argentina also at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT).

USA and Argentina to duel later

The first round of matches in Pool C will be completed later on Saturday, when three-time Olympic champions the United States will face Tokyo bronze medalists Argentina at 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT). The winners will be one step closer to advancing to the quarterfinals in Paris.

The opening day of the men’s volleyball tournament will also have a pair of Pool B matches, with powerhouses Italy and Brazil battling at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT) and FIVB World Ranking leaders Poland meeting African representatives Egypt at 17:00 local time (15:00 GMT).

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