The Polish team entered this year's World Championships as a team that was still under construction. After the triumph four years ago, many players gave up their national team careers. There were also changes in the position of coach. After four years, the Poles played in the final again World Cup. They played against Brazil for the second time. They won for the second time.
No favorite
In this year's finals it was difficult to pick an unambiguous favorite. Both teams had their problems even before the tournament. The Poles had to rebuild their team, the Brazilians faced other difficulties. World Champions were seen in teams such as Russia and the United States. Ultimately, none of the favorites played in the tournament.
From the first set
The first set was extremely balanced. Both representations played point to point. In the end, the first part of the game was won by our compatriots, but after a tough fight 28:26. The Poles secured the victory by an effective block, which effectively prevented Wallace from attacking.
Second set for Poles ...
The second set was equally fierce. The Poles started jumping away from their rivals at 20:16. They kept their advantage until the end of the set, which they finally won 25:20. This time it was Michał Kubiak who tipped the scales in favor of the White-Reds.
... as well as the third
The Poles started the third part of the match - and, as it turned out, the last - with enthusiasm. They quickly gained a five-point advantage and with the score at 9:3 they began to control the course of the match. The opponents started chasing the White and Reds towards the end of the match and at one point they got closer to 20:17. The advantage decreased to one point and from the moment of 22:21 it seemed that the Brazilians could still win this set. However, the icing on the cake was Bartosz Kurek, who bombed and scored the decisive point at 25:23.
Poles are World Champions
With the result of 3: 0, the Poles defended the title of World Champions, which they won four years ago in the Spodek Arena in Katowice. They also faced the Brazilians, with whom they won 3: 1. The result is all the more pleasing as the Polish team is only at the construction stage. Only a few players remain from the previous championship team. We look forward to the further development of Biało-Czerwonych!