What are the conditions for advancing to the final round?
To advance to the final round, a team must finish in the top seven, excluding the host country, China, at the end of the qualifying round.
Japan is currently in 5th place with 5 wins, 3 losses and 15 points, but there are three other teams with 5 wins and 3 losses and six teams with 4 wins and 4 losses, making it a very close race.
For Japan to advance to the final round on their own, they must do so in the third week of the Chiba tournament.
① Win all four games (regardless of set count)
②Won against three countries, including Argentina and Germany, all by 3-0 or 3-1
Either of these conditions must be met.
Although Japan will be welcoming back its main players, other teams are not expected to make any major changes to their roster, so Japan will likely lag behind slightly in terms of the completeness of its team.
Therefore, I think it will be very tough to advance to the final round on our own. Anyway, we want to get a good start by winning the first match against Germany 3-0 or 3-1.
What will happen to the members in week 3?
The members of the Japan National Team B, who will play in a friendly match in Iwate Prefecture, were announced the other day. It is likely that the members for the third week of the VNL will not be selected from this list.
In addition, Otsuka, who underwent surgery on his right elbow in early July and had announced that he would be aiming to return to compete in the World Championships, is no longer able to participate.
Therefore, we predict that the starting lineup will consist of opposite Miyaura and setter Oya, who have supported the team so far, along with outside hitters Ishikawa Yuki and Takahashi Ai, middle blockers Onodera Taishi and Yamauchi Akira, and libero Yamamoto Tomohiro.
However, there is a good chance that middle player Sato and libero Ogawa will also be in the starting lineup.
I also think that outside hitter Tomita will play in the backcourt, Kai and Yamazaki will play as relief servers, and opposite Nishiyama and setter Nagatsuyu will be used primarily as substitutes.
Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing how the members who have fought so far will be combined with the main players from the Paris Olympics and what kind of team will be created.
Upcoming match schedule
Week 3: Chiba (Japan)
July 16th (Wed) 19:20～ vs Germany
July 17th (Thu) 19:20～ vs Argentina
Friday, July 18th 19:20～ vs Brazil
July 20th (Sun) 19:20～ vs USA
Final Round: Ningbo (China)
The host country, China, and the top seven teams from the qualifying round will advance.
July 30th (Wed) to August 3rd (Sun)
Related links
Photo: FIVB
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