The second week of the Men's Volleyball Nations League 2023 will be held from Tuesday, June 20th to Sunday, June 25th.
We will briefly introduce the four teams (Canada, Cuba, Brazil, and Argentina) that will be competing against Japan at the Orleans (France) tournament, including their members, team characteristics, and players to watch.
Japan's ranking and match schedule
Ranking
Ranking at the end of the first week: 1st place (4 wins, 0 losses, 12 points)
World ranking: 7th (as of June 19th)
As of the end of the first week, Japan is the only team with a perfect record and is provisionally ranked 1st. Their world ranking remains 7th, the same as before the tournament.
Week 2 registered members
*1 Nishida Yuji OP 2000 187
*2 Futoshi Onodera MB 1996 202
*3 Akihiro Fukatsu S 1987 183
*4 Kento Miyaura OP 1999 190
*5 Tatsunobu Otsuka OH 2000 195
*6 Akihiro Yamauchi MB 1993 204
*8 Seida Sekida S 1993 175
10 Kentaro Takahashi MB 1995 201
11 Masami Tomita OH 1997 190
12 Ai Takahashi OH 2001 188
13 Tomohiro Ogawa L 1996 175
14 Yuki Ishikawa (C) OH 1995 192
20 Tomohiro Yamamoto L 1994 171
30 Yuto Kai OH 2003 200
Week 2 Match Schedule
The time is Japan time.
June 20th (Tue) 20:00～ Canada match
June 21st (Wed) 20:00～ Cuba match
June 22nd (Thursday) 20:00～ Brazil match
June 24th (Sat) 20:00～ Argentina match
Week 2 Opponents
Canada
Ranking at the end of the first week: 15th (1 win, 3 losses, 2 points)
World ranking: 17th (as of June 19th)
2022
17th in the World Championships
VNL15th place
2021
2nd place at North American Championships
Tokyo Olympics 8th place
8th place in VNL
Registered Members
*1 Pearson Eschenko MB 1997 204
*2 Luke Hare S 1994 192
*4 Nicholas Hoag (C) OH 1992 200
*5 Brody Hofer OH 2000 200
*6 Danny Demianenko MB 1994 196
*7 Stephen Ma OH 1994 201
*8 Brett Walsh S 1994 196
10 Ryan Sclater OP 1994 200
12 Lucas Van Berkel MB 1991 210
13 Samuel Cooper OH 2001 200
14 Arthur Schwartz OP 1995 209
18 Justin Louis L 2000 178
97 Landon Curry L 1999 174
99 Matthias Elser OH 2001 198
Director: Tomas Samuelvo (Finland)
Meet our team
Canada came in third in the World League, the predecessor of the VNL, in 2017, but has not been on the podium since. Furthermore, with fellow North and Central American team Cuba rapidly gaining strength in recent years, Canada is in urgent need of reform, and this season they have invited Finnish coach Samuelo Jr., who led Poland's Saksa to the European championship, to revive the team.
The core of the team is OP Sclater, a scorer, and OH Hoag and OH Marr, who have long played in the top leagues in Europe. In the first week, held in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, they were able to beat their rival Cuba, but that was the only victory they had. In order to advance to the finals, they will need to step up their game from the second week onwards.
Player to watch: Steven Ma
Outside hitter
Height: 201cm
Highest reach: 350cm
Club: Monza (Italy)
His spikes and serves, fired from his massive physique, are extremely powerful. He is also the team's mood maker, and his intense actions liven up the team. He played with Yuki Ishikawa at Milan two seasons ago, and next season he will be teammates with Ai Takahashi at Monza, so he has many connections with Japanese players.
Cuba
Ranking at the end of the first week: 13th (1 win, 3 losses, 3 points)
World ranking: 13th (as of June 19th)
2022
14th in the World Championships
2021
4th place at the North-Central American Championship
Registered Members
*1 Jose Masso MB 1997 199
*2 Osniel Melgarejo (C) OH 1997 195
*5 Javier Concepcion MB 1997 200
*6 Christian Tondijk S 2001 195
*7 Yonder Garcia L 1993 183
10 Miguel Gutierrez OP 1997 197
11 Liván Taboada S 1998 191
12 Jesus Herrera OP 1995 194
14 Adrian Goide S 1998 191
18 Miguel Lopez OH 1997 189
19 Andriel Pedroso MB 2002 212
22 Jose Gutierrez OH 2001 192
23 Marlon Yount OH 2001 202
24 Alain Gorget L 1993 189
Directed by: Nicolas Vives
Meet our team
A group of physical monsters. They won the Challenger Cup last year and participated in the Nations League for the first time this year. Many of their players are active in top leagues such as the Italian League, and OH Melgarejo played opposite Ishikawa Yuki at Milan this season.
Although they have been fighting without their mainstay MB Simon, they defeated the powerful Brazilian team in the first week with their strong offensive power from high jumps, mainly OP Herrera and OH Lopez. However, their roughness in defense and other areas was noticeable, and they were unable to win consecutive games.
If they are able to gain momentum with their serves or other plays, they will be quite troublesome, but it seems they will not be too difficult an opponent for Japan.
Player to watch: Jesus Herrera
Opposite
Height: 194cm
Highest reach: 355cm
Club: Perugia (Italy)
Although he is not very tall at 194cm, he is a southpaw opposite who can launch a destructive spike serve from a high jump. In the fierce full-set battle against Brazil in the first week, he scored 30 points by himself and contributed greatly to the team's victory. In the Italian league, he still lacks stability, making mistakes at key moments, but once he gets going, he is really unstoppable. The key for Japan is how much pressure they can apply defensively.
Brazil
Ranking at the end of the first week: 5th place (3 wins, 1 loss, 9 points)
World ranking 2nd (as of June 19th)
2022
3rd in the World Championships
VNL 6th place
2021
1st in South American Championships
Tokyo Olympics 4th place
VNL Champion
Registered Members
*1 Bruno Rezende (C) S 1986 190
*4 Otavio Rodrigues MB 1991 200
*6 Adriano Fernandez OH 2002 201
*8 Enrique Onorato OH 1997 190
14 Ferdinand Kreling (Cachopa) S 1996 186
15 Maiki Nascimento L 1997 187
16 Lukas Saatkamp MB 1986 209
17 Thales Hoss L 1989 190
18 Riccardo Lucarelli Souza OH 1992 196
19 Felipe Joaqui OP 1997 212
20 Arthur Bendt OH 2004 205
21 Alan Souza OP 1994 202
23 Flavio Gualberto MB 1993 199
30 Judson Nunes MB 1998 204
Directed by: Renan Dalzotto
Meet our team
The strongest team in South America. Everyone's final boss. Although they lost to Argentina in the third-place deciding match at the Tokyo Olympics, ending their streak of consecutive Olympic medal wins since the 2004 Athens Olympics, their status as a strong nation remains unshakable.
The team has strong attackers in every position, including captain Bruno, who has been the national team setter for over 15 years since 2007, outside hitter Lucarelli, and opposite hitter Alan. As with the first week, OH Real, a main source of points, will not be participating in the second week, but MB Lucas will join from the second week. His perfect combination with Bruno is a must-see.
The match against Brazil will be the highlight of the second week for Ryujin Nippon. They have not beaten Brazil for over 20 years, so it will be interesting to see if they can break this curse.
Player to watch: Riccardo Lucarelli Souza
Outside hitter
Height: 196cm
Highest reach: 355cm
Club: Piacenza (Italy)
He is the key player in the offense and defense of the Canary Islands. He has led the team as the starting OH of Brazil, a team that has been undefeated for over 10 years. In the first week, he was the best scorer and the center of the serve reception in all three games except the match against Cuba. There is no one to replace him in Brazil, where there is a generational change in each position, such as setter Cachopa and opposite Alan. On the other hand, if they can break down Lucarelli, the chances of victory will increase dramatically. Well, that's difficult, though.
Argentina
Ranking at the end of the first week: 3rd place (3 wins, 1 loss, 9 points)
World ranking: 8th (as of June 19th)
2022
8th in the World Championships
VNL 9th place
2021
2nd in the South American Championships
Tokyo Olympics 3rd place
VNL 9th place
Registered Members
*1 Matias Sanchez S 1996 173
*3 Han Martinez OH 1998 190
*4 Joaquin Galleggo MB 1996 204
*7 Luciano Palonsky OH 1999 198
*8 Agustin Rosell MB 1997 197
*9 Santiago D'Anani L 1996 176
10 Mauro Zelajeta OH 2000 190
11 Manuel Almor OH 2002 195
12 Bruno Lima OP 1996 198
16 Pavlo Koukhartsev OP 1993 203
17 Luciano Visentin OH 2000 197
18 Martin Ramos (C) MB 1991 197
22 Nicholas Zerba MB 1999 203
77 Mathias Giraud S 1998 196
Directed by: Marcelo Mendes
Meet our team
The bronze medal team at the Tokyo Olympics. They are not tall, but they have high skill and organization, and their style is similar to Japan's. However, while Japan has a strong serving ability, Argentina has good blocking, persistently touches the ball, and takes the break from the turn.
The core of the team is setter Dececco. In the first week, his skillful game-making led to three wins for OP Lima, OH Vicentin (handsome), and MB Rosell, giving the team a strong start in third place. Dececco will not be participating in the second week, and instead S. Sanchez will be the main setter. At 173cm, Sanchez is shorter than Japan's Sekita, but his skills are among the best in the world. The match against Japan is expected to be a long rally.
MB Rosell is teammate with Ishikawa Yuki at Milan in Italy, while MB Zerba is teammate with Miyaura Kento at Nysa in Poland.
Player to watch: Agustin Rosell
Middle Blocker
Height: 197cm
Highest point reached: 335cm (probably more)
Club: Milan (Italy)
At 197cm, he is small for a middle-schooler, but he scores a lot by taking advantage of his natural athletic ability. He is a model for middle-schoolers, with a high level of spiking, blocking, and serving. His signature move, the "drift quick," in which he jumps diagonally to confuse the opposing blocker, is a must-see. In the second week, the setter will be Sanchez, who has been his partner since the under-class, so we can expect him to hit even more than he did with Dececco.
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Photo: FIVB
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