Following their resounding 3-0 win over the United States, the Argentine men’s volleyball team beat Italy in the tie break 3-2 and qualified for the semifinals of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The Italian team won the first 25-21, while the Argentine team recovered and matched the actions with a 25-23. The third sleeve was left for the South Americans by 25-22. The fourth period was left for the Europeans by 25-14. In the definition, Facundo Conte gave the final point to Argentina for the 15-12.
In Tokyo, the European team met he appropriated the first set with a 25-21 In a process loaded with parity, but in which they managed to take the advantage and close it without fissures, distributing the points in the figures of Gianluca Galassi, Osmany Juantorena and Ivan Zaytsev, mainly.
The second set was as intense as the first. The Italians pressed with the serve, but those led by Méndez remained in play thanks to the points of Ezequiel Palacios. Argentina’s number 13 scared everyone when, after adding point 21 to the Albiceleste (21-19), on the descent he stepped on Sebastián Solé and bent his right ankle. After being treated by the doctors, he continued on the field until the 25-23.
The third set saw the best version of the Argentine game so far. With a brilliant Luciano De Cecco, protagonist of several individual offensive actions that ended in points for Argentina, added to the furious attack of Facundo Conte and Palacios, the national team got a maximum of five points in the middle of the quarter (12-7). The Italians then recovered, but Argentina closed better and took the set by 25-22.
The fourth quarter was all for the Italians, who went ahead quickly on the scoreboard and finished it quickly with a forceful 25-14. Faced with this, the Argentine coach decided to preserve several of the starters while waiting for the tie break. The last sleeve was with the heart in the hand. The Argentine team was down by two points, but brought out its best game in the closing to achieve an unforgettable victory for all Argentine volleyball.
Argentina will have to face each other in the semifinals with the winner of the key that make up France and Poland. On the other side of the table, the semifinal will be between Brazil (they beat Japan 3-0) and the Russian Olympic Committee (they beat Canada 3-0).
The path of the national team in these Games began with a defeat against Russia (3-1) and a painful fall in a great 3-2 game against Brazil -current Olympic champion-. Set albiceleste he recovered from these blows and with authority he won a very good match against France 3-2 and then added his second win against Tunisia (3-2) after reversing two sets down. The last stumbling block for Argentina in Group B, one of the most difficult, was the United States.
It should be noted that the Albiceleste had its highest sporting point in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, when the national team beat Brazil 3-2 in the duel for third place and seized the bronze medal. After Sydeny 2000, the last time that the men’s team ranked among the best four of the Olympic Games, led by Conte, De Cecco, Palacios, Solé and company, Argentine volleyball is among the best in the world.
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