Lausanne, August 22, 2009 —
With 10 qualifying tournaments having already been played this month and four
more either under way or on their way, the team list for the 2010 FIVB Men’s
World Championship in Italy is rapidly filling up.
A few short weeks ago, only
three teams were confirmed to participate in the Final Round: hosts Italy and defending
champions Brazil, both of which received byes to the September 24-October 10
event next year, and Puerto Rico, which was the first team to qualify in July.
Europe got the ball rolling
early this month when an undefeated Russia and Germany finished 1-2 in Pool I
in Tampere, Finland in a third-round qualifying tournament that ended on August
9.
Three days later in South
America, Venezuela joined Brazil as one of three teams that will represent that
continent at the Worlds. Venezuela beat
Paraguay, Uruguay and Ecuador on home soil in Pool B. Argentina hosts the final
qualifying tournament from August 28-30, where it will play Bolivia, Argentina
and Chile.
On August 16, Tunisia
became the first of three teams to qualify from Africa when it went unbeaten in
Pool D against Algeria, Kenya and Mozambique. Egypt became the second team to qualify
when it downed Nigeria on the final day of Pool C qualifying in Cairo on
Friday. The third and final African representative will be determined on Sunday
in Pool E in Cameroon, where the hosts, South Africa, Mauritius and Zimbabwe
are competing.
The first of four teams
from Asia to qualify also did so on August 16, when undefeated China and
runner-up Australia advanced from Asia Pool G in Chengdu, China. The final two
berths will go to the winner and runner-up from Pool H, featuring Japan, Korea,
Iran and Kazakhstan, at the end of the month.
The final six European
spots were also filled on August 16, with Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland,
France, Serbia and Spain all advancing on a hectic day of Volleyball activity
around the globe.
Cuba brought the curtain
down on the day by becoming the second NORCECA representative to earn a spot in
the Final Round. A day later, the United States joined them, leaving the three
runners-up from the third-round tournaments (Dominican Republic, Mexico and
Canada) and the strongest third-place finisher (Panama) to battle for the final
two NORCECA berths in a Playoff Round in Mexico from August 28-30.
Qualified teams:
Brazil (defending champions)
Italy (hosts)
Puerto Rico
Russia
Germany
Venezuela
Tunisia
Egypt
China
Australia
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Poland
France
Serbia
Spain
Cuba
USA
Download highresolution
Contact:
FIVB Press Department Director - Richard Baker
Mobile. +39 334 914 1332
Email: press@fivb.org