After debuting in the CEV EuroVolley 2021 Men with a clean victory against Slovakia on Friday, reigning Olympic champions France return to the court on Sunday, to star in one of the eight matches of the fourth day of the tournament, against Croatia, in Tallinn.
Ngapeth was in his usual top form against Slovakia, dropping 17 points
The French kept their Olympic form in their first match in the EuroVolley, the first with new head coach Bernardo ‘Bernardinho’ Rezende in charge, and powered through Slovakia with a stellar blocking performance, which saw them register as many as 15 blocking points – five from middle blocker Barthélémy Chinenyeze and four from opposite Jean Patry.
The reigning Olympic champions were also ruthless on the offense, with Patry and Tokyo’s Most Valuable Player and outside hitter Earvin Ngapeth producing each 17 points against the Slovakians. Now the focus turn to the Croatians, who, they believe, have the potential to be more dangerous.
“They have an excellent player, Leo Andric, who improved a lot during the last season of the French League playing for Nice. They’re similar to Slovakia when it comes to the power of their offense and their block. But they lack a little bit of volume and that’s something we can explore if we play intelligently and diversify our game.”
Mauricio Paes
France’s Assistant Coach
Andric, a 27-year-old opposite, was highlighted by Paes for good reason as he was a key name for the Croatians in one of the most spectacular matches of the EuroVolley so far, their 3-2 victory against Latvia, on Saturday, in which he scored 32 points, six of which in aces. Outside hitters Marko Sedlacek and Filip Sestan, who registered 21 and 16 respectively, were also on good form.
Andric improved from 13 points against Germany to 32 in the victory over Latvia
The victory has given the Croatians a much-needed boost after they performed below their own expectations in their opening match, a straight-set loss to Germany on Friday. Now, they’ll have a great opportunity to show what they’re about against the Olympic champions.
