It's Brazil v Serbia in FIVB World Championships final
Brazil players celebrate a point during their FIVB World Championship semi-final match against Italy at Omnisport Stadium at Apeldoorn, Netherlands on October 13, 2022.
What you need to know:
- It was sweet revenge for the Brazilians who lost 3-0 to the same opponent in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) final in July.
- Brazil will now meet defending champions Serbia in the final on Saturday after the Europeans beat Olympic champions USA 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 17-25, 25-23) on Wednesday to advance.
Brazil on Thursday stunned Italy 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 25-19) to book a place in the final of the ongoing FIVB World Championships in the Netherlands.
It was sweet revenge for the Brazilians who lost 3-0 to the same opponent in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) final in July.
Brazil will now meet defending champions Serbia in the final on Saturday after the Europeans beat Olympic champions USA 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 17-25, 25-23) on Wednesday to advance.
Serbia captain Tijana Boskovic was the star of the show with 33 points.
The South Americans had beaten Italy 3-2 in the second round in Rotterdam last week and showed similar determination in Apeldoorn to win their semi-final match.
Once again, both sides relied on their star players with Brazil skipper Gabriela Guimares tallying 20 points while Paola Egonu of Italy registered a game-high 30 points.
However, it’s Brazil’s overall team effort that saw them seal a place in the final as four other players reached double digits namely middle blockers Carolina Ana (17 points), Caroline Gattaz (11), Lorenne Teixeira (14) and Rosamaria Montibeller (11).
It will be Brazil’s third consecutive appearance in the final of a major competition after settling for silver at last year’s Tokyo Olympic Games and VNL.
They will also be looking to bag their first world title after finishing second in the 1994, 2006 and 2010 editions.
