The first round of the Tokyo Olympic men's volleyball final tournament. Japan played against Brazil, ranked number one in the world, and lost 3-0 in straight sets. As a result, the Japanese men's volleyball team finished the tournament in the best eight.
Results
Japan vs Brazil 0-3 (20-25, 22-25, 20-25)
First set starting lineup (serving order)
Japan: MB6 Yamauchi, OP11 Nishida, OH21 Takahashi, MB2 Onodera, S12 Sekita, OH14 Ishikawa, L20 Yamamoto
Brazil: OH18 Lucarelli, MB16 Lucas, OP8 Wallace, OH9 Real, MB13 Sousa, S1 Bruno, L17 Thales
Brazil was strong after all. The offensive power of the side attackers was stable, and their reception and blocking almost perfectly contained Japan. However, Japan's reception was impenetrable, not allowing Brazil to get a single service ace (this was the first time in this tournament that Brazil had zero aces, and I've never seen Brazil with zero aces), and they attacked mainly with Ishikawa and Nishida, leading the second set until the middle, but they were unable to win the set after allowing the other team to reverse the situation.
It was a disappointing loss. But the players should be proud of this result. They have come so far, which would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. Thank you for all your hard work.
I'm ashamed to say that I haven't seen the full match footage yet. I'll add my thoughts after watching it all.
Anyway, thank you for all the excitement and inspiration! Thank you so much for your hard work!!!
Although Japan lost, the Olympic men's volleyball tournament is still on!
Webcast
Photo: FIVB
English 
Japanese