"We are all here to grab the ticket to Brazil," said Poland's Michal Kubiak. Before that happens, the four teams in World League Pool H1 will battle it out in Katowice and Lodz.
Katowice, Poland, June 14, 2017 - The coaches and team captains of Iran, Russia, USA and hosts Poland gathered at a press conference in Katowice before their last week of play in the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World League Preliminary Round. All four teams still have a chance of qualifying for the Group 1 Finals so fans can count on hard-fought matches as the World League stops in Katowice (June 15) and Lodz (June 17-18).
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Wojciech Czayka, director of World League 2017 Poland said: "On behalf of the President of the Polish Volleyball Federation, Mr Jacek Kasprzyk, let me welcome everybody to Katowice, the city known as the home of Polish volleyball. I'm sure that the matches that we are going to witness will bring the fans a true sports thrill and the teams will show their very best volleyball."
USA coach John Speraw said: "I am excited to be here in Katowice. One of my very first experiences of World League was here ten years ago. I remember how impressed I was that time and how Polish fans support the teams. As it was mentioned – it is the home of volleyball in Poland. We will fight here against Iran and they are a tough team, we have played against them many times lately. I think a lot of teams are playing with young players, which is good. We also have a young team, we learned a lot from the beginning of the tournament and we hope to achieve a higher level of performance."
USA captain Kawika Shoji said: "Team USA is excited to be here in Katowice again. It is a great place to play volleyball. We are ahead of three very strong opponents in Poland. We have been through a lot in the last weekends and we will try to do our best to advance to the Final Six."
Russia coach Sergey Shlyapnikov said: "Thank you very much for the brilliant organisation. We are here to get the best possible result, to fight in every match. We have a lot of young players whom we would like to try in the games. Of course, we would like to achieve the best result in each match, but there are some injuries in our team that make things difficult. What we can promise, is that we will fight and put our heart in every game."
Russia captain Dmitry Kovalev said: "I strongly believe the tournament in Poland will be very interesting for the fans. The teams gathered here are really powerful, forces are levelled and what is pretty intriguing – each team has a chance to get the ticket to the Final Six in Curitiba."
Iran coach Igor Kolakovic said: "We are so happy to have the opportunity to play again in Katowice. Game by game the team is getting in better shape. Our main goal is to achieve a better position in the ranking. We hope to win here."
Iran captain Mir Saeid Marouflakrani said: "It's nice to be here in Poland again. This edition of the World League is so hard, all the results are so close, so every team has the chance to qualify for the Final Six and I wish good luck to everybody."
Poland coach Ferdinando De Giorgi said: "I'm so happy to play in Poland, in Katowice, in front of our fantastic supporters. I'm sure that our fans will help us and we are facing really strong teams and it is a challenge to play against them. We need to concentrate on improving the quality of the game, to focus on every opponent and take it step by step. Good luck for all the teams."
Poland captain Michal Kubiak said: "For sure we are all here to get the ticket to Brazil and qualify for the final tournament. Katowice has always been a great place to play for us and it's a chance for us to qualify."