The Slovenians breezed through the main group of the European Championship with flying colors – they only lost a set right at the start two weeks ago against Ukraine. However, drama awaited them in the round of 16 with Turkey, against whom they had to turn the match from 0:2 to sets.
But the start of the quarterfinals in Varna was better for Romanian coach Gheorghe Cretu’s men – they won the first set 25:17 and the second after a long drawn-out 31:29. However, the Ukrainians gave hope for the first participation in the EC semi-finals in history by winning the third act (25:21). The favorite, whose middle blocker Jan Kozamernik had an attack success rate of 83 percent, did not let the progress take away and ended the match with a 25:23 victory.
The French avenged their recent defeat against the Romanians
The Olympic champions managed to avenge the Romanians’ defeat from the group a week ago and advanced to the semi-finals after their failure at the EC in 2021, when they were sensationally eliminated by the Czechs in the round of 16 in Ostrava.
The team of Italian coach Andrea Giani won the first two sets 25:22 and 25:14. The Romanians entered the third act better, and they were among the top eight in Europe for the first time since 1985, but they did not maintain their promising lead. The French averted four set points and converted the first match point themselves to make it 27:25.
In Thursday’s semi-final in Rome, the Slovenians will face the winner of the Poland-Serbia duel, which will take place in Bari on Tuesday.
2023-09-11 19:45:28
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