China welcomes Brazil, Dominican Republic, France, Italy, Japan, Netherlands and Thailand for competition week two
A VNL clash between classic Asian rivals China and Japan coming up this week in Macao
Macao will entertain the teams of Brazil, the Dominican Republic, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Thailand and hosts China for the Pool 3 matches of the second competition week in the women’s 2024 Volleyball Nations League from Tuesday, May 28, to Sunday, June 2. In addition to the spots in the VNL Finals, also at stake during the Preliminary Phase this year are four vacancies in the Paris 2024 Olympic volleyball tournament.
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As many as five of the teams that have not qualified for Paris yet are in the pool in Macao. For some of them, like Italy and China, the trip to the French capital looks like a safe bet, and for others, like Thailand, it looks like a mission impossible. However, Japan and the Netherlands are placed very close to the qualification cut-off in the FIVB World Ranking and for them every game in Macao could eventually prove crucial.
Japan are currently ranked third among the candidates for the four Olympic vacancies, while the Netherlands are first below the red line after losing their place within the qualifying zone to Canada during the first VNL competition week. The gap between these two teams is only about 28 World Ranking points.
After Japan’s first match in Macao, against Brazil on Tuesday at 19:30 local time (11:30 UTC), that gap could either expand by as many as 13.16 points, if Japan shut out the mighty South Americans, or shrink by as many as 6.84 points, if the Asians get shut out themselves. Later in the week, the Japanese team has encounters with VNL rookies and Olympic hosts France, powerful Asian rivals China and already qualified Dominican Republic.
The Netherlands will meet the exact same four opponents during the week, starting with China on Wednesday at 19:30 (11:30). There is a nice 12.81 World Ranking points to gain for the Dutch, if they sweep that game in straight sets, but if they lose by 3-0, China will take away as many as 7.19 points of their score.
Paris-bound Brazil will be aiming to continue their winning streak in VNL 2024. They are running second in the current VNL standings on a 4-0 win-loss record and a full 12 points, behind Poland only on set ratio. After Japan on Tuesday and the Netherlands on Thursday, the Brazilians will also meet Italy…
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