Germany and Poland seal magnificent Paris 2024 berths

Two European sides were between the six sides which secured their berths for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, after the three Olympic Qualification Tournaments, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tokyo, Japan and Xi’an, People’s Republic of China between 30 September and 8 October were concluded.

The biggest surprise was Germany, which was one of the three sides to finish the competition with an immaculate record, seven wins out of seven matches, an outstanding turnaround after they ended up on the ninth place at the CEV EuroVolley 2023 Men, missing out on the quarter-finals altogether.

In a Pool with the silver medalist of the CEV EuroVolley 2023 Men, Italy, and powerhouses like Cuba and Brazil, Germany were by no means the big favourites, but they only dropped four sets on their way to a ticket to the Olympic Games, marking their return for the first time in 12 years, after their last edition was London 2012.

Germany’s György Grozer was the second top scorer in the three Olympic Qualification Tournaments, with 132 points in seven matches, 12 less than the leader, Belgium’s Ferre Reggers.

The hard work was done in the first days of competition, when they had previously won against Brazil, Italy and Cuba, therefore in the last day, Germany were big favourites against Qatar and took that win in fine style, 25:15, 25:20 and 25:16, to celebrate their return to the Olympic Games.

Brazil came second in the Pool and also sealed their tickets to Paris 2024, but everything was decided in the last match against the runners-up from the CEV EuroVolley 2023 Men, Italy, which led by two sets to one, only for the South American powerhouse to mount an impressive comeback and seal the second place with a 3:2 win.

No European team in Pool B, the one played in Tokyo, Japan, managed to progress to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with Slovenia being the closest, after winning five matches and losing two against hosts Japan and the United States of America, exactly the teams which sealed the two tickets.

USA had seven wins, followed by Japan’s five, with Slovenia, Turkiye, Serbia and Finland coming in a tightly-packed consecutive order, from the third to the sixth places in the Pool.

The most dramatic pool was the one in Xi’an, the People’s Republic of China, where reigning European champions, Poland, had no issues to progress to Paris 2024, after sweeping their opponents and clinched their ticket early, with seven wins out of seven matches.

Poland did drop eight sets, but were in no trouble throughout the competition, with their superiority clearly on display, as they extended their excellent run of form from the CEV EuroVolley 2023 Men.

The biggest drama came for the second qualifying place, as Belgium faced Bulgaria in the last match, with a win for Belgium sealing their place to Paris 2024, their maiden berth for the Olympic Games.

Belgium lost the first set against Bulgaria, mounted a comeback, won the next two, but lost both the fourth and the fifth one, 25:21, 23:25, 21:25, 25:22, 15:13, in heart-breaking fashion, with Canada taking advantage, as their win against Mexico was decisive in sealing the second place.

The six qualified teams – Germany, Brazil, the United States of America, Japan, Poland and Canada – now join France, with five other spots ready to be sealed. The five remaining Olympic places will be decided using the FIVB rankings in June 2024, prioritising countries from continents that do not yet have qualified teams in the Olympic tournament.