How Japan can beat Poland
Japan has never won against Poland in official matches since 2009, losing all 14 of them (although they won friendlies in 2023 and 2024 in full sets). None of those 14 matches went to full sets.
I think this will be a very tough match for Japan.
Poland is missing several members of the starting lineup at the Paris Olympics, including OP Krek, MB Bieniek, and S Janusz, but they are still strong enough to maintain their number one world ranking.
Japan's chances of winning are probably around 20% at best. Nevertheless, I have summarized three points that will help Japan beat Poland.
① Don't let your opponent score a service ace
First of all, it will be important to prevent Poland from getting a service ace against their strong serve. Since Poland is a team that creates rhythm with its serve, we want to endure the serve and put stress on the opponent. In the match, OH Ishikawa will probably be targeted as the opponent's serve target, so we want to manage that well.
② Prevent the opponent's mid-range attack with an offensive serve
On the other hand, Japan will attack with serves. Of course, it is best to get an ace, but even if not, they want to break down the opponent and prevent the middle blockers from participating in the attack. As mentioned above, Poland's middle blockers have high scoring power, while Japan's defense against attacks from the opponent's middle blockers is weak, so they want to reduce the number of attacks from the opponent's middle blockers as much as possible and increase their break chances.
3) Attack with deep spikes
Poland's middle blockers are highly mobile, and even if you think they're not there, they'll pop up and take the block point. To reduce that risk even a little, it will be important for Japanese attackers to be conscious of the passing point of their attack (the height at which the ball passes through the net) and aim to hit their spikes deep into the net.
Furthermore, by landing deep spikes, it will also be easier to use feints and other moves to shake up the opposition back and forth, so we will base our attacking on deep spikes, and on top of that we will use a variety of attacks to confuse the Polish defense.
Key Players
Nagatsuyu Motoki (setter)
Considering the matchup with Leon, who is rumored to have a maximum height of 380cm, I would like to fight him with the tall Nagaru.
If he can continue to make the most of the strengths of Japan's attackers and provide sets that prevent Poland's blockers from focusing on one target throughout the match, Japan's chances of winning will increase significantly.
Japan's victory rests at his fingertips.
Match Schedule
Thursday, July 31st, 20:00 (JST)
Television broadcast: BS-TBS
Distribution: U-NEXT or VBTV
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Related links
Photo: FIVB
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