No one expected for the defending European champs to make an early exit from the tournament they were EXPECTED to win. Marek Beer and Czech Republic played their best volleyball so far to defeat Team Yavbou and to advance to the Quarterfinal Round against Germany.
At the post match press conference, libero Grebennikov admitted that he and his team played “very bad”.
“We played very badly. We missed lots of chances to score a point. We missed serves and attacks and we were really awful at reception. We did not play like a team. Instead we played like individuals. That is why it was difficult for us to win this game. The Czech Republic did not play very well, but we were even worse. Unlike us, they played like a team.”
France’s Coach Tillie could not also believe how terrible his players performed.
“We played very unstable in all elements. It was so hard to see my team playing like that. The strength of this team is always the collective game. I did not see it in this game. It is a big pain for the whole team and all our fans.”
France ended the tourney finishing 9th. This is their worst finish since 2007 after winning the 2015 edition and a silver medal in 2009.
As for the Czech Republic, their coach, Michal Nekola, is of course very proud of his team’s progress since the tourney started.
“We played well in our last pool match against Italy and we showed an even better level against France. Of course, we felt respect for the current World League champions, but thought of it as a challenge to play a great team, rather than a difficult task.”
With a guaranteed finish in the Top 8, this is Czech Republic’s BEST performance since finishing 4th in 2001.