Poland is the first Semi-Finalist of the Men's Paris Olympics 2024

The European champions Poland dominated their quarter-finals match against Slovenia, in a rivalry that has become a staple of almost every major international competition, claiming the first semi-finals spot at the Paris Olympics.

The team coached by Nikola Grbić started the match on the right foot, well organized and aggressive in every play and with its main men firing on all cylinders. Global superstars, Wilfredo Leon and Bartosz Kurek were dominant at the net in attack, Kochanowski and Beniek dominant with the block and Tomasz Fornal was absolutely everywhere, displaying a motivation worthy of the competition. 

Coached by Romanian Gheorghe Cretu, Slovenia was not going to back off the fight and came back into the match after a hard fought win of the second set, however a quarter-finals slot always seemed to be just out of reach of the Slovenians given the consistency shown by Poland, who went on to win the next two sets and a well deserved semi-finals spot.

Wilfredo Leon finished the game on 20 points, highest scorer of the match, with Kurek following close on 19 and Kochanowski on 10, while Fornal came close to a double digit scoring match with 9 points at the end of it. On the other side of the net, Slovenia only had two player with double digits, Klemen Čebulj on 16 and captain Tine Urnaut on 13. Slovenia bow out of the Olympics with their heads held high while Poland keeps the dream alive for an entire volleyball loving nation.

Next on the quarter-finals schedule, Italy will face Japan while the other two European nations still in the competition, France and Germany will face each other this afternoon. The day will be closed off by USA vs Brazil, a match that will reveal Poland's opponent in the semis.