Ruse, Bulgaria, September 12, 2018 - Brazil started the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship with a perfect straight-set win against Egypt 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-20) in the last match of the day in Pool B.
Renan Dal Zotto, coach of Brazil: “I think we are in good condition and we are well prepared to play against France tomorrow. France is one of the best teams in the world and they are capable of playing volleyball at a very high level. We have to play really well tomorrow, and to be focused on each element of the game if we want to win the match.”
Bruno Rezende, captain of Brazil: “I think we started really well. We were very aggressive in the serve. In the first set the Egyptian team maybe did not play as they can. After that, in the next two sets, I think we did not do our best in block-defense. We made some mistakes in the block timing but we still managed to win this match. For us it is really important to start like that. With this formula of the tournament each set is really important and we just have to continue this way. Tomorrow we will have a really tough match against France. Now we just need to rest a little bit and to focus on our next game. Each detail will be really important tomorrow. I think, we have to play better in defense. We have to serve like today, maybe even better. We must be aggressive and try to make it difficult for them in reception because my colleague from the other side of the net, Benjamin Toniutti, is a great setter. I think this is the key for tomorrow.”
Isac Santos, player of Brazil: “Opening matches are always complicated because there is a lot of pressure, but I think we played a decent game. It was a good start for us so we can go up during the competition. I expect a tough match against France tomorrow. They are a really strong team but we are here to fight.”
Mohamed Moselhy Ibrahim, coach of Egypt: “Brazil are the Olympic champions, so it is always difficult to play against them. In the beginning, our players were very nervous and tense. Some of them are new players. In the second and in the third set we started to play better but Brazil continued to control the game, especially with their capabilities in serving. I hope my team is going to play better tomorrow and achieve some good results.”
Ahmed Abdelhay, captain of Egypt: “Brazil is a very impressive team for sure. They are the current Olympic champions. I think we did our best today. It was our first match at this competition and it was very tough for us. We have some young players and we tried to do our best, but we did not manage to achieve more against a such strong opponent.”