Lausanne, Switzerland, May 15, 2018 - After putting an end to an 11-match losing streak with their opening day win over Korea, Belgium are now up against pool hosts and reigning world champions China, Wednesday in Ningbo - but in three previous encounters with the Asian powerhouse, the European side has lost all three.
Head-to-Head
• China have won all their three matches against Belgium in world level major competitions (Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, World Grand Prix, Grand Champions Cup).
• China beat Belgium 3-1 at the 2014 World Grand Prix, 3-0 at the 2014 World Championships and 3-0 at the 2016 World Grand Prix.
• Belgium won their only set against China in that 2014 World Grand Prix match by a two-point difference: 27-25.
China
• China won their first match at the Nations League, 3-0 against Dominican Republic.
• China have won their last six major world level fixtures, since a 3-1 loss to Serbia in the third-place decider at the 2017 World Grand Prix.
• In six of their last seven participations in a major world level competition, China opened their campaign with two victories. The only exception in this run were the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (W1-L1).
• China's last five defeats at major world level tournaments have all come against European sides.
Belgium
• Belgium opened their Nations League campaign with a 3-0 win versus Korea.
• It marked Belgium's first match win at a major world level competition since the 3-1 victory against Turkey at the 2016 World Grand Prix.
• Belgium could win successive fixtures in a single edition of a major world level tournament for the first time since the 2014 World Championships, where they consecutively beat Azerbaijan (3-0) and Puerto Rico (3-0) in the first round.
• Belgium can win their opening two matches of a major world level tournament for the first time.
• The last major continental tournament Belgium started with two wins was when they beat Hungary and Azerbaijan at the 2015 European Championships.