September 10, 2021 - The Croatia men's volleyball team will play in the European Championship round of 16 on Monday in Ostrava against Slovenia.

Croatia secured third place in Group D in Tallinn on Wednesday, while the outcome of Group B in Ostrava on Thursday kept Slovenia in second place.

On the last day of the group stage in Ostrava, Bulgaria first defeated Belarus 3-1 (25-13, 25-18, 24-26, 25-22), and then Italy was better than the host Czech Republic 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22). Italy thus confirmed first place in the group with all five victories, Slovenia and Bulgaria achieved a win-loss ratio of 3-2, but Slovenia won nine and Bulgaria eight points, so Slovenia took second place and Bulgaria third place. The fourth Czech Republic also reached the round of 16 from that group with a 2-3 ratio and seven points, while Belarus remained fifth with a 2-3 ratio and six points. Montenegro remained at the bottom with all five defeats.

France kept a clean slate in Group D in Tallinn; the Tokyo Olympic champions in the last match defeated the hosts Estonia 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) and thus knocked them out of the championship. The second place with a 4-1 ratio was confirmed by Germany, who beat Slovakia 3-2 (25-20, 25-17, 25-27, 25-27, 15-9), Croatia is third with a 3-2 ratio, while the defeats of Estonia and Slovakia benefited Latvia, which took fourth place with a 1-4 ratio and five points and will play in the round of 16 against Italy. The 5th-placed Slovakia has the same ratio as Latvia, but with fewer points, and Estonia finished their performance at the European Championships.

THE RESULTS
GROUP B (Ostrava):
Bulgaria - Belarus 3-1 (25-13, 25-18, 24-26, 25-22)
Czech Republic - Italy 1-3 (20-25, 21-25, 25-23, 22-25)
TABLE:
Italy 5 5 0 15-2 15
Slovenia 5 3 2 10-6 9
Bulgaria 5 3 2 10-9 8
Czech Republic 5 2 3 10-10 7
Belarus 5 2 3 7-10 6
Montenegro 5 0 5 0-15 0

GROUP D (Tallinn):
Germany - Slovakia 3-2 (25-20, 25-17, 25-27, 25-27, 15-9)
Estonia - France 0-3 (18-25, 17-25, 19-25)
TABLE:
France 5 5 0 15-1 15
Germany 5 4 1 13-6 11
CROATIA 5 3 2 9-11 7
Latvia 5 1 4 8-13 5
Slovakia 5 1 4 8-14 4
Estonia 5 1 4 6-14 3

ROUND OF 16
Saturday, September 11:
Russia - Ukraine
Poland - Finland
Sunday, September 12:
The Netherlands - Portugal
Serbia - Turkey
Italy - Latvia
Germany - Bulgaria
Monday, September 13:
France - Czech Republic
Slovenia - CROATIA

Source: HRT

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