In the last match at the Nations League tournament in Sofia, Poland defeated the United States 3:1 after a fierce match. In nine days, Poland will play in Gdansk (5-9 July), where the world champions will seal their promotion to the final tournament.
From the very beginning, the Poles tried to impose a high tempo on their rivals, and thanks to a series of plays by Mateusz Bieńek they came out on top 5:1 in the first set. However, the Americans quickly gained momentum and responded by making up for the loss. Poles made many mistakes and the Americans took a 1:0 lead in the match.
Later, when the Poles had some nervous moments or lost points, coach Nikola Grbić relied on psychological speeches during the breaks. He appealed to the players to focus on finishing the next action instead of thinking about it. The second set was also quite nervous and both teams played point for point. Eventually, the Polish national men’s team won the second set and drew.
Later, however, the next set was balanced. Poles tried to mislead the Americans but they were focused. Americans did not give up till the end but fortunately, the Poles managed to win another set.
The last set was full of emotions. It was hard for the Poles to score, but they were focused until the very end. In the last minutes of the match, a ball after a block fell in the middle of the court on the rivals’ side and eventually, the Poles won the whole match, and the last point was scored by Aleksander Śliwka’s attack.
Poland – USA 3:1 (21:25, 25:23, 26:24, 25:23)