Lausanne, Switzerland, May 31, 2017 - Defeding World League champions Serbia begin their 2017 campaing against Rio 2016 bronze medallists USA as the two sides clash in a rematch of the 2008 World League final, Friday in Novi Sad.
Head-to-Head• Serbia (incl. Serbia and Montenegro) and United States will meet each other for the 14th time in World League history, with USA winning five and Serbia eight of the previous 13 encounters.
• This will be a replay of the 2008 World League final, when United States beat Serbia 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22) on 27 July 2008.
• In 2015, Serbia reached the World League final after a five-set victory over United States in the semifinals.
Serbia• Serbia are the defending champions after winning the World League for the first time last season.
• No team has won the World League in back-to-back seasons since Brazil won in both 2009 and 2010.
• Serbia will make their 20th participation in the competition and that includes appearances they made as Yugoslavia and as Serbia and Montenegro.
United States• United States will make their 20th World League participation. They will appear in the competition for the 12th successive season.
• Team USA are two-time winners of the World League. They triumphed in 2008 and 2014.
• Last season, they finished fifth and did not make it into the top three for the first time since 2013 (12th).