Brazil beats Italy and guarantees place in Paris 2024

Victory

Shortly after the match, coach Renan Dal Zotto resigned from his position

The Brazilian men’s volleyball team beat Italy this Sunday (8), in a tie-break, by 3 sets to 2, and guaranteed a direct place in the Paris 2024 Olympics. The game, valid for the last round of the Pre-Olympic, was played at Maracanãzinho, in Rio de Janeiro. Shortly after the match, coach Renan Dal Zotto resigned from his position.

The partial sets were 25/23, 23/25, 15/25, 25/17 and 15/11. Brazil started to dominate the match and soon after went through ups and downs, like Italy. After going down in the third set, he recovered afterwards and regained his confidence. In the tie-break, he finished perfectly.

Darlan was Brazil’s top scorer with 19 points. Lucarelli was second, with 17.

The result means that Brazil ends its participation in the Pre-Olympic in second place in Group A, with 15 points, above Italy. Germany, leader with 18, won the other place in the group for the Olympics.

Only the top two in each group qualify directly for Paris-2024.

In total, Brazil accumulated six wins and one defeat in the Pre-Olympic. The only setback happened precisely to Germany, undefeated, and which still plays against Ukraine today.

Gabriel Medina, who is also fighting for an Olympic spot in surfing, was present at the game.

Italy appeared insecure and Brazil mainly took advantage of the opponent’s service errors, of which there were eight, to close the first set. The game was tense from the start, as expected, and the Brazilian team showed balance on the court to hold off the Italians. The team could even have ended the first set earlier, if it weren’t for the wasted counterattacks and poor use of the resource, but managed to close the score at 25/23.

The second set was more difficult for Brazil due to Italy’s excellent marking and blocking. The home team let the Italians grow and declined in both turnovers and receptions. The big turning point for the team to get on the scoreboard came from the coaching staff, who felt Darlan was very marked and brought in Alan and Cachopa. However, despite the fans lighting up the gym and providing extra energy, the changes were not enough and Italy tied by closing the set at 25/23.

Brazil returned to the court with the same formation as before, but without the same technical quality. In the count, the Italians were ahead almost the entire time and began to feel more comfortable at Maracanãzinho. Michieletto scored four ace points at the end and tied up the set even more, which was closed at 25/15 for Italy.

In the fourth set, Brazil saw a vibrant Italy, but regained confidence and got back on its feet. The team counted on Darlan to change the atmosphere of the match, who ignited the gym again and became the third highest scorer in the game with 14, behind Lucarelli and Lavia. With a wide advantage on the scoreboard, the team led by Renan Dal Zotto secured the result and closed at 25/17.

The tie-break was well played, point by point, but with Brazil ahead. The team maintained the calm and stability necessary to control the count and secure a ticket to next year’s Olympics. Brazil’s 12th point was achieved after a perfect rally and further boosted the players’ confidence. In the end, tie-break closed at 11/15, with an ace from Lucarelli.

*With information from UOL

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