Ruse, Bulgaria, September 14, 2018 - Without Earvin Ngapeth, France achieved second win in Pool B at the 2018 FIVB World Championship! Laurent Tillie’s players defeated Egypt 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-16) and topped the standings with 7 points and one match in advance than Canada and Brazil.
Laurent Tillie, coach of France: “I’m satisfied with the win. The most important thing is that we managed to win 3-0. We had some difficulties, especially in the second set, but this is normal after the match yesterday against Brazil. Tomorrow is a rest day for us, so we will have more time to prepare for our next match here against the Netherlands.”
Benjamin Toniutti, captain of France: “It was not easy for us today, because I think everybody was still thinking about the match against Brazil yesterday. It was not easy to come back in the gym 24 hours after a hot game like this. I think it was an important match day for us. We came back in the game in the second set with the entrance of Lyneel and Patry. Like yesterday, every guy who came in the court gave a lot of energy and some positive points. We have to continue this way. Tomorrow is a free day for us, so we are going to have a good rest because three games in three days is not easy. We have to prepare really good for the game against the Netherlands.”
Julien Lyneel, player of France: “I think it was a difficult match. The team of Egypt is very good, they played very well tonight and it was very hard for us to win this game. Luckily, we won this game by 3-0 and that is perfect for the next phase. We have a rest day tomorrow and we will enjoy it and recover. I hope that we will win the match against the Netherlands by 3-0 again. Actually, I hope to win our two next games by 3-0 because we need the points for the second phase. For sure we are not going to have easy matches against the Netherlands and Canada. We have to prepare really good for these two teams.
Mohamed Moselhy Ibrahim, coach of Egypt: “Just like in the previous two matches here in Ruse, our team played really well in the first two sets. In some moments we had the lead in the result, but we couldn’t manage to close the sets. I think the other teams have more experience than us and this is helping them a lot. Despite the lost today, I think my team is improving day by day and now we must prepare for our next two matches in the pool which are really important for us. We need to win our next games!”