2024-07-10 17:13:27
Text: Raul del Pino
Foto: Shutterstock
The worst nightmares of Cuban volleyball fans have come true. Cuba has just suffered its second straight defeat in the Nations League against the Netherlands and has dropped out of the Olympic qualifying positions, which it had reached after a brilliant first week of the competition.
The new setback came with one of the most costly results for the Cuban team, since losing 1-3 (24-26, 25-21, 20-25 and 22-25) represented the loss of 9.66 points in the world ranking.
If in the previous match Canada tipped the balance in its favor with a lightning-fast and effective block, in this one the Dutch displayed a power in the serve that resulted in nine aces, compared to just one for the Cubans.
On the individual level, the captain and opposite number of the Europeans, Nimir, had a feast with a whopping 38 points, five of them from the serve. On the Cuban side, the absence of Roberlandy Simón was felt again, as he continues to have back problems that caused him to miss Tuesday’s match.
The Caribbean team now has 242.53 points in the ranking and dropped two places to eleventh, behind Canada (243.59), which has already qualified for Paris 2024, and Serbia (247.59), which now holds the last spot for the summer event.
As if that were not enough, the Dutch squad itself is another of Cuba’s direct rivals for the ticket to the French capital, although with 222.71 points, it is still a considerable distance away from being considered a danger.
However, at the end of the first week, the Antillean team had a lead of almost 24 points over the Balkans and after only two matches of this second stage they lost them, because the worst scenario is to lose and for the direct rivals to win.
Cuba’s remaining opponents in the second stop of the VLN are two world powers of the caliber of Italy and France, second and seventh in the world list, in that order, another reason why it was essential to arrive at these duels with good previous results.
The positive thing here is that winning will always give a good advantage and failing will limit the damage to a minimum. It is also a plus that both teams have Paris in their pocket (the Italians are not qualified yet but according to the ranking it is a matter of time), so it is likely that they will rotate their best players, as some teams did during the first week.