Officials
Vladimir SIMONOVIC
Stefano CESARE
Overview
The clash of long-term rivals. Poland, bronze medalist of EuroVolley 2019, progressed to quarterfinals unbeaten and playing on home soil hope to again fight for the medal after their Olympic upset. Russia suffered an opening defeat in Tampere losing to Turkey, but now are back on the winning track. Poland and Russia locked horns in Europe's prime competition in 2011 in the bronze medal match won by Poland, but in the meantime they regularly met at other tournaments. This is Russia's 100th match at the European Championship after the break-up of the Soviet Union.
Head-to-Head
· Poland and Russia (including Soviet Union) have met 23 times at the European Championships. Poland won four matches, Russia 19.
· The most recent match between these nations at the European Championships was in the 2011 classification match 3/4. Poland won 3-1 to secure third place.
· Poland and Russia met earlier this year in the 2021 Volleyball Nations League. On 5 June, Poland won 3-1. Wilfredo Leon Venero (25) won the most points in that match.
· In 1976, Poland beat Soviet Union 3-2 in the final of the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games to claim their only Olympic men's volleyball gold medal.
· Two years prior to that Olympic gold medal, Poland had won their first world title in 1974, finishing ahead of runners up Soviet Union.
Poland
· Poland are still unbeaten at EuroVolley 2021. They won all five of their group matches and defeated Finland 3-0 in their Eight Final match.
· Poland won 14 of their last 15 European Championship matches, including each of their last seven.
· Poland last suffered defeat at the European Championships in the 2019 semi-finals: 3-1 against Slovenia.
· At EuroVolley 2019, Poland won 3-0 against Germany in the quarter-finals.
· The final of EuroVolley 2021 will be played in Katowice, Poland. The last nation to win the men's final of the European Championships on home soil was Italy in Rome in 2005.
· Wilfredo Leon Venero (79 points) leads Poland in scoring at EuroVolley 2021.
· Piotr Nowakowski has scored 22 points from blocks in this tournament, a set average of 1.1. At the 2019 European Championships, Ukraine's Yurii Semeniuk finished the final round as the best blocker on 22 points from blocks (0.88 set average).
Russia
· This will be Russia's 100th match at the European Championships after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Russia won 77 of their previous 99 European Championship matches.
· Russia lost 3-1 against Turkey in their opening match of EuroVolley 2021, but won all their five matches since, including a 3-1 victory over Ukraine in their Eight Final match.
· At EuroVolley 2019, Russia were eliminated by Slovenia in the quarter-finals. Slovenia won 3-1 in Ljubljana in front of a home crowd of 11,425 spectators.
· Each of Russia's last two eliminations at a European Championship were against host nations. Besides their defeat against Slovenia in the 2019 quarter-finals, Russia lost 3-0 against Italy in Busto Arsizio in the quarter-finals in 2015. In 2017, Russia won the title.
· Egor Kliuka (106) leads Russia in scoring at EuroVolley 2021, ahead of Dmitrii Volkov (88). At EuroVolley 2019, Volkov was Russia's top scorer on 90 points.
Paweł Zatorski"We have motivation. We play the vice Olympic champions, this is the quarter-finals of European Championship in our country and we will have a full crowd. We are ready."
Poland #17
Tuomas SAMMELVUO"Everyone is focused on this moment, it will be a great volleyball party and atmosphere. We have to be present for every ball, concentrate from the start. and be clear in our minds.*
Russia - Coach
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Match Polls
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Officials
First RefereeVladimir SIMONOVICSUISecond RefereeStefano CESAREITA
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Venue Information
You can easily reach the venue by using public transportation. The two most convenient means include SKM trains which run regularly from all local directions (leave at Gdańsk Żabianka stop, then take a 10-minute walk down the Subisława and Rybacka streets) and ZTM trams (trams no. 2, 8, 6, 11 – leave at Gospody/Osiedle Wejhera stops, then follow the information boards). In order to get to ERGO ARENA straight from the airport, take the PKM train which has its stop at the airport, then change at Gdańsk Wrzeszcz stop and take the SKM train towards Gdańsk Żabianka. For fans, who are choosing to travel by car, we recommend the so-called Green Route which connects the venue with Grunwaldzka street/Niepodległości avenue – the main Gdańsk-Sopot road. Capacity: 12000
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How To Attend
, , Capacity: 12000
ERGO ARENA is one of the biggest and most advanced multifunctional venues in Poland. Located right on the border of Gdańsk and Sopot, ERGO ARENA can gather up to 11100 fans during volleyball and basketball games and, depending on the kind of planned event, can bring together from 5100 up to 15000 people. Starting in 2010, ERGO ARENA has been providing Poland with the highest level of entertainment. Get directions
Featured Players
Wilfredo LEON VENERO
Bio
The Cuban-born volleyball superstar debuted in his home country’s senior national team at an extremely young age of 14. Leon, regarded by some as the best player in the world, was able to join Team Poland in 2019. Apart from world and continental level medals and even more individual awards, he is a holder of some impressive records, including 13 aces in one game in a 2021 VNL match against Serbia
Team
Previous Games
| 19/09/2021 | vs. |
3 - 0 | W | Go to Match Centre |
| 18/09/2021 | vs. |
1 - 3 | L | Go to Match Centre |
| 14/09/2021 | vs. |
3 - 0 | W | Go to Match Centre |
- All Time
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29Competitions Played
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3Titles
- Competition
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9Matches Played
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8Matches Won
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89%Win %
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25Sets Won
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785Points Won
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55%Attack %
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52%Reception %
Team
- Birth Date: 1988
- Birth Place: Wałcz
- Height: 193 cm
- Birth Date: 1987
- Birth Place: POLAND
- Height: 205 cm
- Birth Date: 1994
- Birth Place: Krotoszyn
- Height: 204 cm
- Birth Date: 1988
- Birth Place: Wałbrzych
- Height: 201 cm
- Birth Date: 1993
- Birth Place: Santiago de Cuba
- Height: 201 cm
- Birth Date: 1987
- Birth Place: Ostrołęka
- Height: 188 cm
- Birth Date: 1995
- Birth Place: Jawor
- Height: 198 cm
- Birth Date: 1997
- Birth Place: Giżycko
- Height: 199 cm
- Birth Date: 1994
- Birth Place: Blachownia
- Height: 208 cm
- Birth Date: 1997
- Birth Place: Kraków
- Height: 198 cm
Recent Results
Gallery
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Poland clinch spot in weekend grand finale
Wilfredo Leon"If we play next games like this one we will win this EuroVolley. We played great and I'm very happy about our performance. I know very well these players, because I played with them in Russia. It was a hard game, we played strong and pushed them until the end and now we are waiting for next opponent."
outside hitter of Poland
Egor Kliuka"It's difficult to analyse this game, because we played like 50%, I don't know why. It's very difficult to say something after the game when you are losing in straight sets. Poland just played good today."
outside hitter of Russia
The match in numbers
The combined total number of points scored by both teams throughout the entire match.
The total length of the match, from the first serve through until the last point has ended.
Total number of people in attendance at the venue – taken at the end of the second set.
The combined total number of successful spikes achieved by both teams throughout the entire match.
An average of the two team service reception percentages from the complete match.
The number of successful point winning blocks of POLAND compared to RUSSIA.
POLAND number of service aces compared to RUSSIA
Errors leading to points of POLAND, next to those from RUSSIA