Lausanne, Switzerland, June 3, 2017 - Belgium and defending champions Serbia meet for the very first time in the history of the World League Saturday in Novi Sad. They last meat at the Rio 2016 Olympic qualifiers in Berlin, with Serbia winning 3-1.
Head-to-Head• This will be the first encounter between Belgium and Serbia at the World League.
• Their only meeting at the World Championship came 47 years ago - in 1970, Belgium defeated Yugoslavia in straight sets.
• They also met five times at European Championships, with Serbia (including as Yugoslavia) winning three times and Belgium twice.
• The most recent meeting between Serbia and Belgium came at the European Olympic Qualification Tournament in January 2016, when the Serbs won 3-1. Both sides ultimately failed to qualify.
Belgium• Belgium lost their first match of the 2017 World League by a 3-2 scoreline, even though they outscored their opponents Canada with 109 points to 108.
• This was Belgium's first ever defeat in a World League opener.
• Belgium have now lost four World League matches on the trot, their longest losing streak in the competition's history.
• Belgium's last three matches went to five sets. They lost all three, despite scoring as many or more points than their respective opponents on all occasions.
Serbia• Defending champions Serbia started their 2017 season with a 3-1 win over United States.
• Last season, the Serbs won their first six matches in the competition.
• They have now won three matches on the trot in the World League, their longest run of wins since that six-match streak at the start of 2016.