Tine Urnaut, Mitja Gasparini, Klemen Cebulj and Slovenia were just too good throughout the Group 2 Final Round.

The 2015 European Championship silver medalists did NOT drop a single at all in their semifinal match against The Netherlands and in the gold medal match against Japan.

Slovenia VS Japan

Slovenia VS The Netherlands

Winning Group 2

In his first season as the head coach after leaving Iran, Coach Kovac had nothing but praise for his team and how well they played.

“I am really satisfied because we played really good games in this Group 2 Finals. We really played high-quality volleyball. Working on this World League campaign, I have to put high importance on the motivation of my players. For us, this is the most important competition and we will do everything to win. I want to congratulate my players for doing a tremendous job in maintaining their level, after playing in four continents for this competition.”

What’s next for Slovenia?

The team will take a short break and will start their preparations for the upcoming European Championship in Poland from August 24th – September 3rd.

Excluded From Next Year’s WL?

If this article by Voley Plus is true, then it’s a heartbreaking news for Slovenia and few other teams who will be excluded in next year’s World League. The article states that the FIVB has updated the format for the 2018 edition. The major change is that there will ONLY be Group 1 while Groups 2 and 3 will be dissolved.

The report adds that the FIVB has already determined next year’s teams and the unofficial list has 16 teams:

France
Brazil
Serbia
Russia
Canada
United States
Poland
Bulgaria
Argentina
Iran
Italy (Finished last in Group 1 & should be be regulated to Group 2 based on last year’s format)
Australia
Japan
China
Korea
Germany

2017 Group 1 participant Belgium, Group 2 champions Slovenia and Group 3 winners Estonia are NOT on the list which is a shocker.

Again, this is NOT official. We just have to wait for the FIVB to make the official announcement.

Group 2 Final Ranking

1. Slovenia
2. Japan
3. Australia (Final Round Hosts)
4. The Netherlands
5. China
6. Korea
7. Slovakia
8. Czech Republic
9. Finland
10. Portugal
11. Turkey
12. Egypt

Click HERE to visit the FIVB World League Group 2 website.

FIVB IMAGES