It’s elimination time at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships Hamburg 2019 presented by comdirect and ALDI Nord!
Starting this Wednesday, every women’s match at the Rothenbaum Stadium will be a win-or-go-home one and some of the best teams in the world will inevitably to pack and head to Gstaad earlier than they anticipated. In the men’s side, pool play concludes with some great matchups.
This is definitely a day you’ll want to follow closely from start to finish, but here are our picks:
Who? Lupo/Nicolai v André/George
Where? Red Bull Beach Arena
When? 2pm CEST
Why? The Italians are among the favorites to strike gold in Hamburg and they have played as so for now, securing comfortable victories against teams from Austria and Mozambique. The Brazilians had some struggles against Seidl and Waller but André is a defending champion who knows what it takes to win it all and he would probably take winning Pool H as a decent first step.
Who? Clancy/Artacho v Bansley/Brandie
Where? Sidecourt 2
When? 3pm CEST
Why? Arguably the match of the day, these are two of the best teams in the world as the Australians are currently the number two and the Canadians are the number four - and one of them will have to settle to a 17th-place finish in Hamburg after they dropped somewhat unexpected losses on pool play. The key to this match will rely on how effective Taliqua can be from the service line and how dominant Brandie can be at the net.
Who? Hughes/Summer v Ludwig/Kozuch
Where? Red Bull Beach Arena
When? 5pm CEST
Why? The young Americans have been good but are looking for a big victory, and this is match is probably as good of an opportunity as they could get as they will be facing the reigning Olympic and world champion in her own home sand in Laura. Both teams had their ups and downs in pool play, alternating a pair of convincing wins with unimpressive losses and whichever side gets to limit its mistakes to a minimum should be in position to advance.
Who? Sweat/Walsh Jennings v Agatha/Duda
Where? Red Bull Beach Arena
When? 6pm CEST
Why? Walsh Jennings and Agatha notably crossed paths in the semifinals of the Rio 2016 Olympics but the veterans have been battling in the sands of the world for the most part of the last six years and they will do it again under the floodlights of the Red Bull Beach Arena. They have met twice with their current partners with each of them coming up on top once. Agatha and Duda had a perfect 3-0 record on pool play while Walsh Jennings and Sweat won just one of their three matches, but this match is an absolutely open one.
Who? Klineman/Ross v Maria Antonelli/Carol
Where? Sidecourt 2
When? 6pm CEST
Why? We know you can’t be in two places at the same time but if you feel like sticking your neck out of the Red Bull Beach Arena every once in a while you could probably follow another intriguing duel between Americans and Brazilians. Both teams lost a pool play match and that made them clash before they should, but there will no more room for mistakes now. The series between these two teams indicates one victory to each and this will be an interesting tie-breaker.
