Qatar: Qatar's U17 volleyball team will conclude their campaign in the preliminary round of the FIVB Boys' U17 World Championship on Sunday, facing Tunisia in the third and final round of Pool A at 5pm at the Women's Sports Hall in Aspire Zone.
According to Qatar News Agency, France leads the pool standings with 6 points, followed by Tunisia and Venezuela with 3 points each, while Qatar sits fourth without a point, making Sunday's matchup particularly high-stakes in terms of qualification calculations for the next round.
Saud Al Kuwari, Qatar national team administrator, stated that the tournament is marked by high technical levels, with massive expert teams participating, noting that those teams had previously advanced to the knockout stages. Al Kuwari emphasized that Qatar's debut in this world tournament is a crucial opportunity to gain experience and forge acquaintances with a wide diversity of schools, with the team aiming to capitalize on this experience to further enhance their level.
On the Qatar-Tunisia faceoff, Al Kuwari noted that the two teams are evenly matched, confirming that Qatar will ambitiously compete to achieve positive results and play until the end, hoping that the players would do their utmost. He also highlighted the robust level of play on display at the tournament, particularly among several Asian teams, including Iran, Pakistan, and India, stressing that exposure to these teams helps players develop their skills and gives them valuable experience at the start of their international careers.
In the other matches of the second round today, Brazil pulled off a valuable 3-2 win over Poland, 25-12, 23-25, 25-17, 23-25, 16-14, raising their tally to 5 points, compared with 4 for Poland. In Pool B, Romania picked up their first win by defeating Cuba in straight sets, 25-14, 26-24, 25-15, raising their tally to 3 points, level with India, while defending champions Italy lead the pool with 6 points.
Egypt also picked up their first win of the tournament, defeating Turkiye 3-2, 17-25, 25-22, 26-24, 20-25, 15-12, in a match at Al Arabi Sports Club Hall as part of Pool D play. Egypt raised their tally to 2 points, bouncing back from their opening-round loss to Bulgaria in straight sets, while Turkiye thrashed Spain by the same score, leaving Bulgaria atop the group standings with a perfect 6 points, followed by Turkiye with 4 points and Egypt with 2, while Spain sits fourth and last without a point.
In Pool E, Chinese Taipei defeated Algeria 3-2, 20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 23-25, 15-12, raising their tally to 2 points, while Iran leads the pool standings with 6 points, followed by Pakistan with 3 points, Chinese Taipei with 2, and Algeria with 1.
The third and final round of the preliminary stage begins Sunday, featuring several key matchups, including Qatar vs. Tunisia, Brazil vs. Argentina, Iran vs. Chinese Taipei, Italy vs. Cuba, and Egypt vs. Spain. The top three teams in each pool, along with the best fourth-placed team, will advance to the Round of 16, followed by the knockout stages through the quarterfinals and semifinals, with the third-place and final matches scheduled for Aug. 29.