Ruse, Bulgaria, September 11, 2018 - The six head coaches of the teams who are going to take part in Pool B at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship in Ruse shared the same opinion about the upcoming competition - the group is really strong and the spectators will see high level volleyball. During the press conference the coaches were surprised by official mascot “Volly”, who wished them luck. In the first match in “Arena Monbat” France will play against China on Wednesday, at 14:00 EET.
Mohamed Moselhy Ibrahim, coach of Egypt: "The pool is really tough, but for us it is a great honour to be here in Ruse and to play against some of the best teams in the world. Not only the current Olympic champion Brazil, but the other teams as well are tough opponents with great players. We also have some experienced competitors and will try to get the maximum out of every match."
Stephane Antiga, coach of Canada: "First of all, I want to congratulate Ruse! Here we have the perfect conditions for such a big volleyball tournament like the FIVB Men’s World Championship. In our pool we have really strong teams. I expect tough matches and volleyball from a high level."
Laurent Tillie, coach of France: "I absolutely share the opinion of my colleague Stephane Antiga. Here in Ruse the pool is very difficult with a lot of strong opponents. We will have tough battles. My team will play match by match and of course our main goal is to qualify for the next round."
Renan Dal Zotto, coach of Brazil: "The pool in Ruse is really tough. We will give our best to win as many games as we can and to get as far as we can. The scores from the first phase are really important if we want to be in the final six in Italy. I think we are well prepared and now we have to be concentrated in order to achieve a maximum amount of victories throughout the tournament."
Raul Lozano, coach of China: "The pool is really tough with high-class opponents. But we will fight and give the best we are capable of in the upcoming matches. We have put really great work into our preparation for this tournament and we will try to reach the next phase. I want to congratulate Ruse and the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation for the great conditions and atmosphere at this World Championship."
Gido Vermeulen, coach of the Netherlands: "The venue in Ruse is great and predisposes all the teams to do their best. All the players in my team are so excited because our country is аt its first FIVB Men’s World Championship in 16 years. We will try to do our best and to qualify for the next round. This is our goal. At the World Championship we have the best 24 teams on the planet, so all the matches will be tough."