The Ukrainian men's volleyball national team suffered a defeat in a key match of the 11th round of the Volleyball Nations League. The match against the Turkish team, which is a direct competitor for a place in the top 7, ended unsuccessfully for the "blue-and-yellows," which radically changed the tournament standing of the Ukrainian team.
The team of head coach Raul Losano went into this match with the understanding that after the recent defeat by Serbia, they needed nothing but a victory. The beginning of the match fully justified the expectations of the fans: the Ukrainians seized the initiative and looked confident. However, it was not possible to hold the advantage until the final whistle, and the match ended in defeat.
Critical situation in the standings
The consequences of this match became noticeable by the end of the round. Due to the loss, the Ukrainian national team lost positions and dropped to seventh place in the overall standings. Turkey, on the contrary, overtook the Ukrainians and moved ahead.
The seventh position is critical for qualification: it is the last step that gives the right to advance to the playoff round of the Volleyball Nations League. Any further defeat can deprive the team of a chance to participate in the final part of the tournament.
Decisive match against Germany
The fate of the ticket to the final part will be decided in the coming days. The team has one chance to fix the situation in the final match of the main round. Ukraine will play against the German national team on Sunday, July 19.
The match will start at 17:30 Kyiv time. Earlier, it was reported that the Ukrainian national team approached this decisive week of the tournament with an enhanced roster, counting on a maximum result in the remaining games.
