Berlin, Germany, January 7, 2020 - Bulgaria continued their run in Berlin on Tuesday celebrating an easy 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-15) victory against the Netherlands at the Max-Schmeling-Halle. The Bulgarian team now top Pool B with two victories and are only a step away from the semis while the Dutch team are no longer able to progress to the next round.
Netherlands captain Nimir Abdel-Aziz could not hide his disappointment: "Bad. We played bad. Yesterday we played bad. Today we played bad. We are not good enough right now and we won’t go to the Olympics, that’s it. Right now I don’t even want to think about the match of tomorrow. First we will think a little bit about this match like the next hour then we set our mind for tomorrow. But to be honest, our tournament is finished, but of course we want to show a normal level tomorrow because now in two matches we didn’t show our game."
Bulgaria captain Viktor Yosifov, on the other hand, acknowledged how difficult the match had been, recognising the threat posed by the likes of Abdel-Aziz. "Our game was a difficult game. I think we served today very very good. We were able to stop their main attacker Abdel-Aziz so after that it was easier for us and it’s a good victory and we are thinking for tomorrow."
Bulgaria coach Silvano Prandi confirmed. "This game was not an easy game but we played good volleyball. And normally in volleyball when one team plays a good level the other team is in difficulty. And today Holland was in difficulty; I think it is a deserved win for us."