Just a week after the two five-set battles between the two teams at the Balkan Championship, Bulgaria and Turkey once again found themselves in the same group – this time at the U17 Boys' Volleyball World Championship in Doha.
The new draw, imposed after the withdrawal of the USA, Japan, Czech Republic, and Puerto Rico, sent Ivan Stanev's national team to Group D along with Spain, Egypt, and Turkey.
Thus, Bulgaria moved from an initial group with Iran, Brazil, and Japan, in which there was not a single European opponent, to a group with two – Spain and Turkey.
At least one of the three new opponents, however, is very well known to Bulgaria. Just a week ago, our national team met Turkey twice at the Balkan Championship.
In the group stage, the Turks won 3:2 (25:19, 25:21, 16:25, 21:25, 15:11), after Bulgaria came back from a 0:2 deficit but lost in the tie-break.
The two teams met again in the final, and this time Bulgaria won the most important match – 3:2 (25:22, 22:25, 25:18, 14:25, 15:7), to triumph as Balkan champions.

Stanev: We know Turkey very well

We contacted Bulgaria's head coach Ivan Stanev immediately after the new draw.
"We know Turkey, we played them twice. We know each other very well. Both teams are evenly matched. We won the final with teamwork. Milko Bagdasarov played a great match," Stanev commented.
Thus, for one of the three opponents, Bulgaria has two very recent matches and a clear idea of what to expect.

For Spain and Egypt, scouting is just beginning

The situation with Spain and Egypt is quite different. The Bulgarian staff has to start scouting them on the fly, just days before the start of the World Championship.
"For Spain and Egypt, at the moment I have no information, except that Spain finished third at the European Championship. We are starting to work," Stanev said.
Even during the draw, the coach gave the team's statistician the task of starting to look for information and video materials about the new opponents. The Bulgarian staff expects to receive information about Egypt also through their Turkish colleagues.
The new draw practically nullified the specific preparation for the initial group with Iran, Brazil, and Japan. Bulgaria could have kept at least one of the prepared opponents if placed in Group C or E – Brazil or Iran, respectively, but the draw sent them to D.
"For the other two teams, we are just starting to work. Realistically, we have today, tomorrow, and on Monday, we will spend the whole day traveling," Stanev explained.
Time is pressing the Bulgarian staff. The World Championship starts on August 19, and Bulgaria departs for Qatar on Monday.

Stanev: If you want to be first, you must be able to beat everyone

Despite the commotion surrounding the withdrawn teams, the new format, and the re-draw, Ivan Stanev is not looking for excuses.
"It doesn't matter. If you want to reach the final or be first, you must be able to beat everyone," the coach stated emphatically.

All groups after the new draw

The new distribution shows how serious the change is for Bulgaria – none of the three initial opponents remained in the group, and only Turkey is a team against which the national team has very fresh information from official matches.
The first 16 advance
The change from 24 to 20 participants also led to a new way of determining the round of 16 qualifiers. Each team will play three matches, after which a general ranking of all 20 participants will be formed.
The first 16 in the general ranking advance to the round of 16, and the last four are eliminated.
This means that for Bulgaria, only the position in Group D will not be important – the performance relative to all other participants in the five groups will matter.

The schedule is still awaiting an update
After the draw, one more important unknown remains – exactly when Bulgaria will play against Spain, Egypt, and Turkey.
"I think the first match is Egypt. I don't know if they have updated the schedule on the website. I don't even know on which days and at what times we play," Stanev said.
At the time of checking, the official website of the World Championship on Volleyball World still showed the old distribution and the old schedule with Bulgaria in Group E along with Brazil, Iran, and the withdrawn Japan.
Therefore, Egypt cannot yet be named as Bulgaria's officially confirmed first opponent. FIVB and Volleyball World are yet to publish the updated schedule after the new draw.
One thing, however, is already certain – Turkey once again stands against Bulgaria. Only this time, the stakes are the World Championship.

photo: balkanvolleyball.org