The Yellow Tigers qualify for the next round of the European Volleyball Championship: “Serbia first, then Turkey, two giant challenges” | More sports

“We finished fourth in our group and Turkey are top of Group C,” said the Yellow Tigers coach. “Our next target – the top eight – looks perfect, but we’re going to throw ourselves in completely.”

The match against Poland was of the same level and intensity as last year’s match, when the Belgians eliminated the Netherlands during the World Cup in Arnhem. “We really pulled ourselves together, but it didn’t translate into the outcome,” Chris Vansnik confirms. “We were not at the top in one match with the whole team. There are a lot of stars, but not all at the same time. We have two big challenges: Serbia, two-time world champions, and Turkey, the last national champions. Everyone must perform at their highest level against those the difference.”

“Whether we start against Serbia with or without Brett Herbutz remains to be seen.” The national coach is not looking at his cards. “To prepare for this European Championship, we deliberately played a training match for three days in a row. The third day without our first striker. So we are basically prepared for the fact that we can play without her.

“We trained yesterday in two sets”, continues Chris Vansnik. Solid ball training for those who haven’t played much yet. Calm recovery and strength training for players who were always allowed to start. We’ll do it wisely, because these are very intense days. “We have volleyball, as we planned. We will pool all our energy. We have no other choice against the best players in the world like Serbia and Turkey.”