Two matches, two tie-breaks. The Italians turned the tables on Winiarski's team
The Germans, playing in Quebec without Georg Grozer and Tobias Brand, among others, started the match weaker than their opponents. They lost the first set 0:4, 5:9 and 10:15. Then they woke up, quickly made up for the loss (18:18), and from the score of 21:21 only they scored points (25:21).
SEE ALSO: Volleyball Nations League 2025: Results and match highlights - Friday 13.06
In the second set, Winiarski's team went for it, dictating the terms from the start. After taking a five-point lead (15:10), they did not give it up until the end and after winning 25:20, they were only one set away from their first triumph in VNL 2025.
Italy coach Ferdinando De Giorgi made three changes to the starting six before the third set. The most important of them came at half-time - young Mattia Boninfante was replaced by team captain Simone Giannelli. Francesco Sani (for Mattia Bottolo) and Giovanni Maria Gargiulo (for Giovanni Sanguinetti) also appeared on the pitch.
After these line-up changes, the Italians took control of the court. In the third set, they kept their opponents at a safe, several-point distance from the very beginning and won 25:19. The fourth set was more even, and in its final part the Germans were closer to victory, but from the score of 23:21 in their favor, the "Azzurri" won four points in a row, ending the set with a block on Theo Mohwinkel.
In the tie-break, De Giorgi's team continued to play very well. At the change of sides they were leading 8:4, a moment later 11:6. The matchball gave Italy an out-of-bounds attack by Filip John (14:10), and the victory was given by a sure strike from the right by Yuri Romano (15:11).
For Italy, this is the second victory in the second match of the 2025 Nations League. For Germany, it is the second tie-break defeat in a row.
Nations League 2025, Quebec City
Germany - Italy 2:3 (25:21, 25:20, 19:25, 23:25, 11:15)
Your browser does not support the video player...The second match played at night (Polish time) in Quebec, between the tournament hosts Canada and the Argentine national team, was decided in five sets.
The first set was won by the South American volleyball players - although they lost the five-point lead they had previously gained at the end, thanks to a successful finish they won 25:22.
In the second set, the initiative was taken by the Canadians - coach Daniel Lewis' team quickly built a fairly safe advantage (9:5, 17:12) and, thanks to, among other things, the great play of the attacker Xander Ketrzynski, they confidently maintained it until the end (25:20).
The hosts' victory was even clearer in set number three, in which Brodie Hofer and Bogdanka LUK Lublin's center Fynn McCarthy (3-point blocks) shone. The Canadians were winning 10:3 after just a few minutes from the start of the set, and then controlled the situation on the court, ultimately allowing their opponents to score only 14 points.
The Argentines improved in the fourth set, although for some time their rivals were on track to win 3:1. However, coach Marcelo Mendez's team made up for the three-point deficit from the beginning of the set, and after an excellent finish, especially by Luciano Palonsky (9 points in the set, including 2 on serve), they won 25:22.
In the tie-break, the South American volleyball players were already dominating. Palonsky was still playing brilliantly, and the young attacker German Gomez was flawless. After a few actions, Argentina was leading 5:2 and then only increased their advantage, eventually winning 15:8 and the whole match 3:2.
Coach Mendez's team won its second victory in Quebec - the day before it defeated France 3-2. For the Canadians, it was their first defeat - in the tournament's opening match, the hosts lost 3-2 to the German national team.
Nations League 2025, Quebec City
Argentina - Canada 3:2 (25:22, 21:25, 14:25, 25:22, 15:8)
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