The Polish national team is confident that if they show their best game, they will take an important step towards qualifying for the Final Eight of the Volleyball Nations League. This is evident from an article on the Polish portalSport.Interia.pl, dedicated to the upcoming match with Bulgaria in Chicago.
The Polish national team is already in Chicago, where on Wednesday against Bulgaria they will begin their participation in the last week of the main phase of the Volleyball Nations League. In the "Polish Team" camp, they are adamant that they respect their opponent, but believe that everything depends mostly on their own performance.
Outside hitter Tomasz Fornal, who is set to debut in this year's VNL edition, identified Aleksandar Nikolov as the main figure in the Bulgarian squad.
"We know that Bulgaria's game is built around the older of the Nikolov brothers – outside hitter Aleksandar Nikolov. The key to victory will be to limit him. But if we show our level, we should think more about our own game than about the opponent," Fornal stated toSport.Interia.pl.
The Poles arrived directly from Warsaw in Chicago without additional transfers. According to opposite Bartosz Boladz, adaptation to the time difference is already going well, and the training conditions are excellent.
"We are focusing on our first opponent – Bulgaria. They are a strong team, and a tough match awaits us, but if we play at our level, we should win," Boladz believes.
Poland occupies third place in the VNL provisional standings, while Bulgaria is eighth – a position that still does not grant participation in the Final Eight, due to the fact that the eighth spot is reserved for host China. The difference between the two teams is only three points, which makes the match even more important for both squads.
Head coach Nikola Grbic can now also count on Tomasz Fornal and Kamil Semeniuk, who joined the team after the tournament in Gliwice. The only absentee from the squad remains middle blocker Jakub Kochanowski, who is still recovering from injury, although he is traveling with the team in the USA.
The match between Poland and Bulgaria is on Wednesday at 8:00 PM Bulgarian time in Chicago.
photo: Nikolay Varadinov
