Italy one point from Final Round as World League Intercontinental Round enters last weekend |

Italy coach Andrea Anastasi congratulates his Italian team as they move within one point of a place in the Final Round of the 2010 FIVB World League |
Lausanne, Switzerland, July 4, 2010 - Italy moved within one point of the 2010 FIVB World League Final Round on Wednesday following their victory over Serbia as Finland secured third place in Pool C with a win over Egypt on the first day of the final weekend of the Intercontinental Round.
Italy overcame Serbia 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-19) to move six points clear at the top of Pool B. Only a 3-1 or 3-0 victory will secure a place in the Final Round for Serbia now while Italy will qualify for the Final Round in Cordoba, Argentina if they win or score two sets in their second match on Thursday.
Both teams had a cautious start, well aware of the magnitude of the game. Serbia gradually moved ahead only for Italy to fight back before the hosts saw out the opening set. However the pressure set in for Serbia from the beginning of the second set, and when Italy found their rhythm they easily took the game, despite a late fightback from last year's runners-up.
The two sides will meet again on Thursday at 6.15pm GMT with Serbia looking to turn their weekend around with a convincing win to keep them in contention for the next stage.
Elsewhere, Finland scored a straight sets (25-18, 25-18, 25-14) win over Egypt in Cairo to seal third place in Pool C. Finland's Sivula Urpo topped the scores with 16 points while Abdel Latif Ahmed led Egypt with 10 points. Both teams began well with Egypt taking an early lead. However Finland fought back to regain control and took the first set. With momentum on their side, Finland eased through the next two sets, aided by a number of Egyptian errors in both reception and blocking, and eventually took the win in Cairo.
"Today I am a very happy captain for many reasons,” Jukka Lehtonen, Finland captain said. “We claimed a fantastic win and we confirmed our third place position in Pool C which means we will stay in the next edition of the FIVB World League.”
The two sides will clash again on Thursday at 5pm GMT in their final 2010 FIVB World League match.
Thursday will also see Bulgaria face Brazil for top spot in Pool A at 5pm GMT, the Netherlands host Korea at 5.30 GMT, and Poland taking on Germany at 6pm GMT.
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