Varna, Bulgaria, September 18, 2018 – Poland finished undefeated in Pool D of the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship after beating co-host Bulgaria by 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23) in the last match of the group played in front of about 6000 spectators in the Palace of Culture and Sport. So the current world champions top the standings in the pool while Bulgaria finishes third.
Vital Heynen, head coach of Poland: “I think It was a great battle between two strong teams. We played very good first set and then Bulgaria just came in the game and I think they even deserved a tie-break. We knew that if we win this match we will make a big step forward. We were sure we can do it after the perfect match we played yesterday.”
Pawel Zatorski, player of Poland: „As we expected the game was very tough. It is always difficult to play against Bulgaria especially in their home. We are glad that we won. So now we are in a good situation staying here in Varna and just waiting other strong teams to come.”
Plamen Konstantinov, head coach of Bulgaria: “The Poles showed higher class than us in the key moments. That was the main difference. They were clinical especially at the end of the sets. We were not confident enough to put them in trouble. Actually we were close to the win, we started bad in the first set playing under our potential but then we managed to get back in the match winning the second set. The truth is that Poland has more interchangeable and experienced players in each position which is very important at this kind of tournaments. They were better than us at everything.”
Valentin Bratoev, player of Bulgaria: “Poland is a very tough opponent and on the other hand we are not confident enough to play against them like an equal. It is not like we do not believe in ourselves but when they pushed us, we started playing nervously. I am satisfied with our performance tonight because we showed that we have potential as a team and can play at the level of the world champions. Now we are going to the next round to face tough opponents again. But there is no time for a letdown. It is easy! If we want to qualify for Final 6 we have to beat strong teams!”