The fourth day of the men's indoor volleyball competition at the Tokyo Olympics has concluded, with four countries - Poland, Italy, Canada, and Brazil - following Russia in the final tournament.
Results of the 4th day of the tournament (July 30th)
Pool A
- Canada vs Venezuela 3 : 0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-12)
- Japan vs Poland 0 : 3 (22-25, 21-25, 24-26)
- Italy vs Iran 3 : 1 (30-28, 25-21, 21-25, 25-21)
Canada scored points mainly from OH Hogue and Marr, and defeated Venezuela in straight sets without any trouble. This confirmed Venezuela's last place. In the next match, Japan vs. Poland, Poland won 3-0 with a variety of attacks mainly from OH Leon. Japan also fought back with attacks mainly from Ishikawa and Nishida from a solid defense, and took the third set to deuce, but they were just one step away, and Poland qualified for the qualifiers with their third win. Italy vs. Iran was a fierce battle from the first set, with neither side giving an inch. Italy won two sets in a row first, but Iran took the third set back thanks to the efforts of young OP Kazemi, who came in as a substitute. Italy's Zaitsev was replaced in the middle of the third set due to pain in his finger, but Vettori, who replaced him, and ace player Juan Torena, who scored 20 points in this match, made sure to spike at key points to defeat Iran 3-1, and Italy's advancement to the final tournament was confirmed. In response to this result, Canada also qualified for the qualifiers due to their winning points and set rate. The remaining spot in Pool A's final tournament will be decided by the winner of the match between Japan and Iran on August 1st.
Pool B
- Brazil vs USA 3 : 1 (30-32, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20)
- Argentina vs Tunisia 3 : 2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-13)
- Russia vs France 1 : 3 (21-25, 25-20, 17-25, 20-25)
The match between Brazil and the United States, in which the winner would advance to the final tournament, ended with a 3-1 victory for the previous champion Brazil. The United States also took the lead in the first set after a long deuce, but lost 31 points in one game due to mistakes, which made them look lackluster. The next match, Argentina vs Tunisia, took an unexpected turn. Tunisia, who tenaciously scored points mainly from OP Ventara, took advantage of Argentina's more mistakes than usual and won two sets in a row. From the third set onwards, Argentina regained their usual form and scored points mainly from OP Lima, safely taking the remaining three sets to win the game, but it was a big blow to their chances of passing the qualifying round. The last match of the day was between Russia, who had already qualified for the final tournament, and France, who had only managed one win and were on the verge of a cliff. From the beginning of the first set, Russia took the lead with consecutive blocks, but after that, France, led by their guardian angel Grebennikov, did not drop the ball with their ironclad floor defense, and they took the initiative in the match with their attacks centered on Klebno and OP Patry, taking the lead in the first set. Russia took the second set, but from the third set onwards, France put pressure on Russia with their blocks, forcing Russia's OH Volkov and Kliuka to the bench, and continued to take the initiative in the game, winning 3-1 against Russia. With this, France took a big step towards qualifying for the first time in 33 years since the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Provisional ranking
Pool A
- Poland: 3 wins, 1 loss, 10 points ★
- Italy 3 wins, 1 loss, 8 points ★
- Canada 2 wins, 2 losses, 7 points ★
- Japan 2 wins, 2 losses, 6 points
--- Qualifying breakthrough line - Iran 2 wins, 2 losses, 5 points
- Venezuela: 4 losses, 0 points
★ advances to the final tournament
Poland, Italy, and Canada have qualified for the final tournament. If they advance to the finals, they will face the team in 4th place in Pool B in the quarterfinals, so Poland and Italy will play their final qualifying match to get there. The last spot in Pool A will be filled by the winner of the match between Japan and Iran.
Pool B
- Russia 3 wins, 1 loss, 9 points ★
- Brazil 3 wins, 1 loss, 8 points ★
- France: 2 wins, 2 losses, 7 points
- USA 2 wins, 2 losses, 6 points
--- Qualifying breakthrough line - Argentina: 2 wins, 2 losses, 5 points
- Tunisia: 4 losses, 1 point
In Pool B, Russia and Brazil have also qualified. The remaining two spots will be contested by France, the United States, and Argentina.
If France can win two or more sets in the final match against Brazil, they will qualify on their own. Even if they can win one or less set against Brazil, they will qualify based on the relationship between points and set percentage, as long as Argentina does not win the following match against the United States, whichever wins the head-to-head match, will automatically advance to the final tournament. If the United States loses to Argentina but it is a full set match, they can still qualify as long as France does not gain points against Brazil.
Brazil will want to finish in first place, but to do that, Russia needs to lose more than two sets to Tunisia. To be honest, that's not realistic, so they might rest their main players, such as Real and Lucarelli. If that happens, it will be easier for France to qualify on their own, but what will happen?
Scheduled for the final day of the preliminaries (August 1st)
9:00 Poland vs Canada
11:05 Brazil vs France
14:20 Russia vs Tunisia
16:25 Italy vs Venezuela
19:40 Japan vs Iran
21:45 USA vs Argentina
How to watch
Television broadcast (Japan matches only)
- NHK-BS1 19:25~
Webcast
Photo: FIVB
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Japanese