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National Team News
The first semifinals of the Golden #EuroLeagueW took place on a Sunday. In the first match, Sweden met with Belgium where the national team of Sweden won by 3-2 and they are in a better position for the second semifinal match. In the second match, Ukraine met with Czechia and the team of Ukraine was a better team on the field with 3-0 on the scoreboard.
Sweden vs Belgium: 3-2 (24-26, 25-16, 16-25, 25-17, 18-16)
The first set started off as a cat-and-mouse type of play whereas Sweden managed to separate a little bit from the Belgian team and soon had a five-point advantage (24-19). And just when they thought that they are closing easily this set, the Belgians began their series and scored seven points in a row (24-26) and in the end, they took this set.
Sweden changed the rhythm in the second set which they opened with a 4-0 series and the advantage only grew (13-7) and up until the end they had the nine-point advantage and closed the set by 25-16. We watched a similar set in the third one where Belgium took the initiative and Sweden was running behind (9-15). There was nothing that Sweden could have done so the Belgians easily locked this set in by 16-25.
The domination of Sweden got back in the fourth set where they already had a six-point lead in the beginning (9-3) and soon enough they had twelve point advantage (16-4)! Nothing could have stopped them and they locked the set by 25-17. The fifth set was a deciding one and even though both teams were fighting really hard, in the end, it was Sweden who took a well-deserved win and are in a better position for the next semi-final match.
Ukraine vs Czechia: 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-17)
The second semi-final match didn’t have that match action as the first one but was still an interesting one. Ukraine walked in better into the first set and was in a better position (7-4) but soon enough Czechia got back in the game and went into the lead (10-12). After that, we were watching a completely equal game where teams were playing point-by-point but Ukraine managed to lock the set by 25-22.
The best chance of getting a win in a set Czechia had in a second set where they were constantly in the lead and were always three or four points ahead of Ukraine. Everything changed when Ukraine managed to equalize (20-20) and they began their mini-series of scoring and closed the set by 25-23.
The last set was mostly going on the side of Ukraine, except in the middle of a set when Czechia looked as if they are going to get back into the game. But that didn’t happen because Ukraine then began with their huge series of points and even had a nine-point lead. They closed the set, and the match, with 25-17.
What’s next?
The second set of semifinal matches will take place next Wednesday, the 28th of June. Don’t forget to tune into EuroVolley.TV where you can watch every match live and on demand.