1-5 July 2023
Viana do Castelo, Portugal
DAY 5
France v Italy, 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-10)In the end, the Head Coach of France, Slimane Belmadi, pointed out:
« Today we played better than the other days. It’s still not what we want, but against a team like Italy we get the idea that our work is being rewarded.
The level in the tournament was a bit fluctuating, as there are some players who are absent because of the U21 World Cup, which is unfortunate, but we played a good game against the Italians and that was very important for these players ».
Individual awards
Best Striker – Tommaso Barotto (Italy)
Best Blocker – Felix Baumann (Germany)
Best Server – Saimen Hage (Netherlands)
Best Receiver – Mathis Henno (France)
Most Valuable Player / MVP (Most Valuable Player) – Amir Tizi-Oualou (France)
Netherlands v Germany, 1-3 (20-25, 25-21, 22-25, 20-25)
Felix Baumann, with 20 points, was the best scorer of the game, while Thom Van Der Ent, with 14 points (6 blocks) was the Dutchman who scored the most.
Spain v Belgium, 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-17)The strategy used by Spain was simple and effective. They created a small advantage from the beginning, through offensive pressure and the block, and then managed the difference until the final victory. The third set served only to confirm Spain’s superiority, in all aspects, in this game.
The Spaniard Elio Mondesdeoca, with 12 points, was the best scorer of the game, followed by the Belgian Tijmen Bus, with 11.
DAY 4
The fourth day of the WEVZA Under-19 Men’s International Tournament found the finalists who will fight for the title of winner of the competition: Italy x France will be played tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. at Pavilhão de Santa Maria Maior, in Viana do Castelo, European City of Sport in 2023. The games for the 5th, 6th and 7th places will be held at 3:00 p.m. against Belgium and Spain, while the match for the 3rd and 4th places is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and will be played by Germany and the Netherlands. All matches can also be followed live on Volei TV.
Italy v Germany, 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-16 )
In the 2nd semi-final, Italy lived up to its favoritism and remains undefeated – it only lost a set against Portugal – after today’s triumph (3-0) over Germany…
Although the beginning of each set was marked by balance, spectators soon got the idea that the ticket to the final would not escape Italy.
The Italian captain Lorenzo Magliano, with 20 points, was the best scorer of the game, while Félix Baumman, with 14, was the German with the most goals.
France v Netherlands, 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 27-25)
In the 1st semi-final, France, who were clearly the favorite in this game, maintained their invincibility and boasted their class in the first sets against the Netherlands. A service by captain Mathis Henno right at the opening of the first set (4-1) showed France the way, which went away in long strides (12-4). The triumph, achieved in just 19 minutes, was sealed with an attack by Adrien Roure (25-12). The second set promised more balance, but three consecutive points scored by Joris Seddik and another by Mathis Henno, ended the Dutch resistance (8-3) and built a new uneven result: 25-12, this time in just 18 minutes. The third and final set was the most balanced and the Netherlands, who came to lead the scoring, reached a crucial stage of the partial fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Gauls (24-23), died on the beach and saw France seal the qualification for the final with the seal of its captain, Mathis Henno: 27-25. The Frenchman Thomas Pujol, with 19 points, was the best scorer of the match, while the Dutchman Xander Boomert, with 9, was the best scorer of his team.
Spain v Portugal, 3-2 (18-25, 31-29, 21-25, 30-2, 15-13)
The Iberian duel referring to the fight for 5th place (5th to 7th place) was close – like the games of practically all sports between the two countries –, ending up smiling to Spain.
Two moments that excited the Portuguese and Spanish public: in the second set, Portugal was losing by 20-24, but managed to match, only yielding in the arm wrestling match at 29-31. In the third, the same story, Portugal recovered from 13-20, but ended up losing by 28-30…
The Portuguese Tomás Teixeira, with 32 points, was the best scorer of the game, while Marc Alomar, with 19, and Elio Mondesdeoca, with 18, were the Spaniards who scored the most.
DAY 3
The third day of competition of the WEVZA Men’s Under-19 International Tournament defined the games for the final stage of the competition: 15h00 – Spain x Portugal (3rd in Pool A x 4th in Pool B); and semi-finals between France v Netherlands (6 pm) and Italy v Germany (9 pm), all tomorrow at Pavilhão de Santa Maria Maior, in Viana do Castelo, European City of Sport in 2023. Matches can also be followed live on Volei TV.
Netherlands v Portugal, 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-23 and 25-18)
In the last match before the curtain went down, the National Team faced the Netherlands, who were coming off a comfortable victory over Belgium. The winner would have as a prize the presence in the semi-finals…
Portugal had the bird almost in hand, but the end of the second set, above all, and the defeat in the third meant the swan song for Portugal’s aspirations to reach the semi-finals.
The Dutch captain Saimen Hage, with 16 points, was the best scorer of the game, while Tomás Teixeira, with 13, was the best Portuguese.
Belgium v Italy, 0-3 (21-25, 20-25, 20-25)
In Pool B, Italy confirmed the 1st place, by defeating Belgium with the maximum difference today.
The beginning of the first set was somewhat balanced, motivated, above all, by the effectiveness of the Belgian block – which could not be sustained, it weakened – and which allowed the team guided by Mieke Moyaert to start aiming for higher flights.
However, the service of the Italians, especially Pardo Mati, author of five aces, shattered the reception of the Belgians, preventing them from building decent attacking moves.
The Italians Marco Fedrici and Pardo Mati, respectively with 17 and 15 points, and the Belgian Berre Van Looveren, with 14, were the best scorers of the game.
France v Spain, 3-0 (25-13, 25-19 and 25-23)
In Pool A, the first place was (well) given to the undefeated France, who had beaten Germany on the first day and today beat Spain by the maximum margin.
The game had a balanced start, but soon France began to take advantage of the offensive effectiveness of Malick Diouf (attack) and Adrien Roure (service) to get ahead on the scoreboard and sentence the partial (10-6, 14-7, 20 -10). The result of 25-13, sealed with an attack by top scorer Samuel Cohen, in the first set exposed the weaknesses in the reception and defense of the Spaniards.
These shortcomings continued to be well exploited by the Gauls, who won the following sets with ease, boasting the offensive capacity of the Diouf/Roure/Cohen trident.
The Frenchman Adrien Roure, with 15 points, was the best scorer of the game, while Marc Alomar and Elio Mondesdeoca, both with 7 points, were the Spaniards with the most goals.
DAY 2
After the second day of competition of the WEVZA International Men’s Under-19 Tournament, which is being played at Pavilhão de Santa Maria Maior, in Viana do Castelo, European City of Sport in 2023, Italy and France are the only two teams undefeated in the respective pools. The italians, the biggest favorites in the race, beat Portugal, but they didn’t win for the scare with the response that the Portuguese gave in the second and third sets. France will face the fierce Spain tomorrow (15h00), Italy will face Belgium (18h00) and Portugal will face the Netherlands (21h00). Everything is still open, and the games can be followed live on Volei TV.
Italy v Portugal, 3-1(25-17, 25-23, 16-25 and 25-22)
Italy added its second victory today and maintains the isolated leadership of Pool B.
Portugal again had a lot of support from its public and although with unequal weapons – the difference in height of the two teams is the most evident point – it tried to fight itself using its weapons effectively, such as the service and the low defense.
As against the Dutch, the Italians never lifted their foot from the accelerator, especially in the attacking combinations, showing that aggressiveness, in a good way, is part of this team’s DNA.
Resilient and reckless, the Portuguese team gave a real lesson in mutual help and sacrifice in the second set and were rewarded with the lead on the scoreboard.
A decision by the referee removed the 23rd point from Portugal and what would have been 23-19 became 22-20… A direct serve by Francesco Barreta fixed the result at 25-23 and allowed the Italians to breathe a sigh of relief.
In the third set, the Portuguese continued to score without respect for the opponent’s physical power and David batted Goliath and began to believe…
In the fourth set, Portugal again set the score (6-4, 12-9), but Italy equaled the 14 points, restoring the balance, a situation that lasted until the end: 25-22, favorable to the Italians.
In the end, Michel Zanin, Coach of Italy, confessed:
« Portugal had a good game and we won a beautiful victory against a very valuable opponent, who never gives up. We were like that and Portugal was playing very well… I always tell my players that the game is only won when the referee whistles for the end ».
In turn, responding to the story of David and Goliath, Diogo Rosa acknowledged: « We started feeling a little inferior, but then we tried to mitigate that difference, at least mentally, and we started to believe that, little by little, we could create some conflict there. And that’s what made us grow. Afterwards, we tried to exploit the opponent’s weaknesses and that’s what we were doing, fulfilling that objective, and we ended up playing this game, fighting with this team of great value, that makes us grow ».
The Italian Francesco Barretta, with 14 points, was the best scorer of the game, while Tomás Teixeira, with 13, was the Portuguese with the highest score.
Belgium v Netherlands, 0-3 (18-25, 21-25, 20-25)
The beginning of the game will have been a little surprising for the Belgians, who presented a six base different from the clash with Portugal the day before… Unable to sustain the Dutch services, especially those of Xander Bomert and Lukas Sleurink, Belgium faced enormous difficulties in properly arming its attack, which often ended up dying in the Netherlands bloc. Losing by seven points (6-13, 9-16) against a powerful opponent in the attack and solid in the high defense, Mieke Moyaert’s team could do nothing more than try to fight until the end and the Netherlands sealed the set with the result of 25-18. In the second set, the Dutch were losing by four points and ended up winning by that difference: 25-21, with Xander Bomert and Saimen Hage increasing their punctual hoard to 10 points. In the third, and after some balance (10-10), the Netherlands managed to create a difference of three points (16-13), which would eventually become five (25-20) due to the break of the Belgians in the final moments of the game. The Dutch Saimen Hage, with 14 points, was the best scorer, followed by the Belgian Wannes Van Alboom, with 13.
Spain v Germany, 1-3 (26-28, 19-25, 25-21, 25-18)
The determination, effectiveness and determination of the Spaniards, mixed with the defensive and offensive mistakes (service) of the Germans allowed a great balance in the first set, which lasted until the result of 28-26, favorable to the Germans, with two points in the attack signed by Tom Borchert. The balance ended there. Afterwards, since in the following set the increase in effectiveness in the reception, in the block and service of the Germans ended up dictating an uneven result. In the third set, the service of the Spaniards again created enormous difficulties for the reception of Germany, later destabilizing the entire game construction of the Germans, who, however, would manage to mend their hand in the last partial, showing that they are still in the fight for the semi-finals. The German Félix Baumann, with 25 points, was ranked as the best scorer, while Marc Alomar was the most successful Spaniard, with 14 points.
DAY 1
The National Teams of France, Belgium and Italy emerged victorious on the 1st day of the WEVZA Under-19 Men’s International Tournament, to be played until July 5th at the Pavilhão de Santa Maria Maior, in Viana do Castelo, European City of Sport in 2023.
France v Germany, 3-2 (23-25, 27-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-8)
France beat Germany 3-2 today (23-25, 27-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-8) in the opening game of Pool A. The game was marked by balance, but also by some nervousness, with the eagerness to score quickly leading the teams to make mistakes in attack and, above all, service, as Slimane Belmadi , coach of France, acknowledged in the end: « This triumph it was a good way to start the tournament, as Germany have a good team, with good players and our players are still very young and made many mistakes, especially in service. It is still too early to give another dimension to this victory because we lack fluidity in the way of playing due to the fact that there is not the chemistry that we wanted, but they have only been together for two weeks, it is something that we have to improve with time. »
The French captain, Mathis Henno, with 22 points, was rated as the best scorer, while Felix Baumann was the German with the most goals, with 18 points.
Portugal v Belgium, 1-3 (25-21, 21-25, 18-25, 18-25).
A very different story had the game between Portugal and Belgium. The Portuguese entered better, pressing with the service and the attack and winning the first set, but Belgium, after correcting the offensive and reception errors, made the size of its players and the potential of Eliot De Vleeschhauwer and
Berre Van Looveren, authors of 16 points… each. « We entered the game well, pressing aggressively and the victory in the first set was the result of that. Afterwards, that pressure was not applied as effectively, we made mistakes and Belgium started to feel more comfortable and to win more and more confidence », highlighted Diogo Rosa, the coach of the home team.
Rafael Pinto, with 17 points, was the best scorer, followed by the Belgians Eliot De Vleeschhauwer and Berre Van Looveren, both with 16 points.
Italy vs Netherlands, 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-15)
Italy and the Netherlands closed the 1st day of competition in the WEVZA Under-19 Tournament, and the Italians showed why they are considered favorites, immediately taking over the leadership of Pool B. Solid in the block and very strong in offensive actions, both in service and (especially) in attack, Italy showed why they dominated the last edition of the younger competitions… The victory against the Dutch by the maximum margin (3-0: 25-13, 25-17 and 25-15) took them to the top of the group.
