{ scoreResults.ArticleMeta.Heading }

In what was the opening match of the action in Pool A, Croatia and the Netherlands delivered an inspiring match, with great rallies, keeping the intrigue alive during most of the time. The players around head coach Roberto Piazza emerged victorious and grabbed the 3 points, with the better performance on the block (8 kill blocks) and on the serving line (8 aces) becoming the keys to Friday's success.

• Amazing spectacle marked the beginning of the first set, with both teams breathing down each other's necks. In what can be called a cat-and-mouse game, Croatia and the Netherlands were precise in the different components, but a slightly better performance on the winning spikes allowed the Netherlands to open the match. 
• Croatia "returned the favour" in the next set with 16 successful spikes, and tied the score at 1-1. 
• The third set began in the same way, with the teams fighting hard for each ball. Neither Croatia, nor the Netherlands could build up a comfortable point difference, and thus, maintained the intrigue in the set alive. With the set unfolding, the Netherlands took their chances on the block (3) and on the serve (3 aces). 
• The Netherlands stood better in the last set, while Croatia lacked some concentration in the decisive moments. The Dutch scored 2 kill blocks and 2 aces to seal the victory, emerging victorious in this part. 
• Marko Sedlacek from Croatia topped the charts in the match with 22 point, while for the Netherlands Wouter Ter Maat recorded 20.

Wessel Kreemink, player of the Netherlands: "Of course, we are very happy about this win; that's what we came here for. For us, this match was very hard! If you look at the first three sets, you can tell that both teams were very close to each other in the score; only in the last one, we managed to make a greater difference. We have been together only three days, so we are just happy now about the win."

Tsimafei Zhukouski, player of Croatia: "I think that we played a pretty good game in the beginning, it was a good fight against one very good team. I think that we lost because they have many players, were able to make rotations and changes with them, everybody could play. Maybe we weren't prepared to face every player of the opposite team, and I want to congratulate them on the nice victory. The tournament has just started, and we will fight for each point, each set, each game!"