'We can avoid the last place out of 18 countries ···' Korean women's volleyball needs at least two wins to remain in the difficult VNL race
'We can avoid the last place out of 18 countries ···' Korean women's volleyball needs at least two wins to remain in the difficult VNL race
Blog Article
Korean women's volleyball will compete in the 2025 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Volleyball Nations League (VNL).
The Korean women's team, led by head coach Fernando Morales, will start its first week of VNL schedule with Italy, the Czech Republic, and the U.S., starting with the match with Germany on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The national team's goal is to remain in the VNL. It only has to avoid the bottom among the 18 participating countries, but it is not an easy challenge. To avoid relegation, Korea needs to win at least two games.
However, considering Korea's current capabilities, this is not an easy target. Korean women's volleyball players had to lose all 12 games in the 2022 and 2023 VNL tournaments. At last year's tournament, Korea beat Thailand to escape from 30 consecutive losses. By beating France, the Korean team garnered two wins, and narrowly avoided ranking 15th among 16 countries.
The four teams that will face off in the first week of the VNL are the strongest teams in the world. Korea is the lowest at 35th in the FIVB world rankings. Italy is the world's No. 1 strongest team. It is followed by the U.S. at No. 3, Germany at No. 12, and the Czech Republic at No. 15. Italy, the U.S., and Germany were all included in the 12 finalists for the Paris Olympics last year, with Italy winning the gold medal by beating the U.S. 3-0 in the final.
In the first week, the national team plans to sacrifice one win for the Czech Republic. "The rest is a very realistic goal," Morales said during the departure time, adding that he aims to win against France, Bulgaria, Belgium, and the Czech Republic, adding that the Czech Republic is a must-win country.
However, it is not easy for Jeong Ji-yoon (Hyundai Engineering & Construction), the main outside heater of the 안전놀이터 Korean national team, to play in the first week's schedule due to his fatigue fracture. "Me and Ji-yoon were the main players until last year, but we need to fill the spot where Ji-yoon is missing with new players," Kang So-hwi (Korea Expressway Corporation), the captain of the Korean national team, said in an interview before leaving the country. "I was a little worried about the first week's game. However, as I trained with the players, I think I gained teamwork. I think I will be able to show good performances."
After completing the first week's schedule, the team will move to Istanbul, Turkiye, which will kick off on July 18 and start the second week's schedule with Canada, Belgium, Turkiye and the Dominican Republic. The third week's schedule will be held in Chiba, Japan, where they will face Poland, Japan, Bulgaria and France.