On June 30, Beijing time, the 2024 World Men's Volleyball League ushered in the semi-finals, and finally Japan beat Slovenia and reached the finals, France narrowly defeated the world's No. 1 Poland, so the finals were between France and Japan.
Japan 3-0 Slovenia
In the sub-tournament, Japan ranked fourth, while Slovenia ranked first, 11-1, and only lost one game, which was the loss to Japan at that time, and the two teams are currently very close in the world rankings, Japan is second in the world, Slovenia is third in the world, and the good results in the sub-tournament have improved significantly.
In today's game, Japan fought very hard from the beginning, the fight served effectively, the offense played very smoothly, the score has been suppressing the opponent in the game, the second and third games were fiercely fighting, the score was very tight, and the key points at the end of the game came to Japan, 27-25 and 31-29 won two games in a row. Advance to the finals and get a bonus of 500,000 yuan, about 3.63 million yuan, plus the sub-station competition, there is more than this bonus.
Japan continued to play to their strengths - attacking and serving, and although both teams were 6 points on serve, Japan sent better and more impact, and they also knew that they needed to rush out of serve.
In terms of blocking defense, especially defense, I can seize more opportunities, and I have to admire the defense of the Japanese men's volleyball team, everyone on the court is a free man, and the defense of the Japanese men's and women's volleyball teams is really worth learning.
Offensively, Japan won 48-43 slightly, and Yuki Ishikawa continued to play well, scoring a game-high 21 points, playing with great momentum, strong explosiveness, and very stable, scoring 6, 7, and 8 points in the three games.
36 shots, 19 shots, 7 losses and 2 blocks, receiving the team's highest 21 passes and 2 misses, the offensive success rate is more than 50%.
Nishida Yushi also performed well in this game, scoring 18 points, 27 deductions, 15 shots, 2 losses, 1 block and 2 shots, and the offensive success rate was also more than 50%, Onodera Taishi 9 points (9 deductions and 7 hits.
The rise of the Japanese men's volleyball team, in fact, is not long, 8 years ago in the Rio Olympics, the level and the first-class team is obviously different, and now it is a championship team.
Looking at the past record of the Japanese men's volleyball team in the World Men's Volleyball League, not only the results, but also the content are visible to the naked eye and improving.
2018 No. 12
2019 No. 10
2021 No. 11
2022 No. 5
2023 Third place
2024 Top 2
Now watching the Japanese men's volleyball game is like watching art, pleasing to the eye, connecting the delicate beauty, the extreme, the strong attack of the bounce, waving the arm, twisting the waist and backing the ball, jumping the serve, each technique is very exquisite, and the foot work is also very amazing, the rhythm is steady when dealing with the messy ball, and different players also know how to save the ball with their feet, so that people can see the beauty of the combination of football and volleyball.
Nishida said after the race, it's great! I'm so happy, so excited. Everyone's prayers made a difference and strengthened our fighting spirit. Now it's all about this moment. I'm so happy!
It's strange to say that only Japan can do that. I don't know, maybe it's because everyone's prayers worked, and I have to respect that. Today's game was tough, but it was a high-level game. The fans were very happy to see such a great matchup, which made us more motivated. It was a precious experience.
This is the first time that the Japanese men's volleyball team has reached the final, which is a historic moment, but it has only just begun. We're going to keep working hard to win tomorrow and be the overall champion." Tomorrow's game will be even tougher because the opponent is France.
In 1972, the Japanese men's volleyball team defeated Bulgaria to reach the final of the Olympic Games in Germany.
In 2024, the Japanese men's volleyball team will defeat Slovenia under the leadership of captain Yuki Ishikawa and enter the World League final in Poland.
The Japanese men's and women's volleyball teams entered the championship and runner-up battle in the VNL in 24 years, which was a major breakthrough for Japanese volleyball:
- For the first time in nearly 50 years, the Japanese men's volleyball team participated in the championship and runner-up tournament at the FIVB level;
- For the first time in nearly 10 years, the Japanese women's volleyball team won the silver medal in a FIVB-level event.
The Slovenian men's volleyball team's 12-2 record so far has been due to Japan, one is 1-3 in Fukuoka and the other is 0-3 in the semifinals
It can be said that it is very close to the Brazilian women's volleyball team, the same is that the sub-station matches are ranked first, and then stop in the semi-finals, and the semi-finals are all lost to Japan, in fact, Slovenia almost missed the semi-finals, when the 1/4 finals are to save the match point, it may be that the sub-station matches will exhaust the state and get out of the state too early.
In the other semi-final, the world's No. 1 Polish men's volleyball team lost 2-3 (25-22, 22-25, 23-25, 25-20, 16-18) to the Olympic champion French men's volleyball team and was eliminated, and the French men's volleyball team advanced to the final.