In the opening match of the men's volleyball tournament at Paris 2024, Germany surprised at the First Arena in South Paris, beating world No. 2 Japan 3-2 (25-17, 23-25, 20-25, 30-28, 15-12) after five intense sets, breaking Japan's record of six consecutive victories against Germany.
Germany showed strong serve and attacking ability in the opening game, especially Grozer helped his team to a 9-2 lead with a strong serve in the first game, and although Japan made a number of substitutions to try to chase the points, Germany finally won the first game comfortably 25-17.
In the ensuing matches, Japan won the second and third games by changing tactics and improving offensive and defensive efficiency, but in the end Germany showed more consistency in the crucial fourth and decisive fifth games to win the match.
Germany, who were ranked 11th in the world before the competition, scored their first points in the Group C standings and moved up one place in the world rankings.
Although Japan have only one point in the standings, they remain in second place in the world rankings, but the world rankings could be overtaken by Italy, France and Slovenia in the next few days.
Germany's victory was due to a multifaceted effort, with main attacker György Grozer performing particularly well, contributing 24 points in the game, including 15 smashes, five blocks and four service points.
In addition, Anton Brehme and Moritz Karlitzek, who came off the bench, contributed 15 and 11 points respectively, adding important points to the team's victory.
Lukas Kampa, captain of the Germany team and setter, said after ·the game: "We always believe that we can win the game. We have been very close to Japan in the last few years, which gives us confidence that we can always find a comeback. We prepared very well for this game and the start of the game showed that. ”
Japan's top scorers include captain Yuki Ishikawa, who contributed 22 points (21 smashes and 1 serve), and Yuji Nishida, who contributed 20 points. Ran Takahashi also scored 15 points.
In terms of overall comparative data, the three data of 59-61 smash, 6-8 serve, and 30-30 self-loss are relatively flat, but the blocking net is 18-8, and the abuse is 10 points, which shows the disadvantage of the Japan men's volleyball team in terms of height.
Japan captain Yuki Ishikawa said after the match: "Of course we don't want to start this tournament with a defeat, but we still won a point and I believe it will help us get to the next round." Next we need to change our mentality, keep the momentum and be ready for the next game against Argentina. ”
This match was not only a contest of skill and tactics between the two sides, but also a test of their mental and physical fitness. Germany have made a good start to their Olympic campaign with excellent performances, while Japan will need to find a response in future competitions in order to achieve better results.