Japan will complete the lineup of the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship semifinals as the Asian giants secured the fourth and last spot in play on the next round of the tournament on Wednesday in Leon, Mexico.
The second-best team in Pool E, the Japanese will face Italy, the top side in Pool F, in the semifinals on Friday. On the same day, Pool E winners China will battle Pool F runners-up Brazil for the second spot in the gold medal match.
The tournament is streamed live on the Volleyball World YouTube channel.
In order to take the last spot in the semifinals, Japan had to beat hosts Mexico in their third Pool E match in order to surpass Serbia and finish in second place. The Asians dropped a set, but accomplished their goal, producing a 3-1 (25-17, 25-20, 24-26, 25-21) victory over the home team to get to two wins and advance.
Semifinal Lineup
| Semifinal Match | Teams |
| Semifinal 1 | Japan vs. Italy |
| Semifinal 2 | China vs. Brazil |
The CSD president, Victor Francos, expressed the council’s willingness to get involved after receiving three formal complaints about Rubiales’ actions.
We have been very clear with RFEF on the need to open the procedures established by the Sports Law. We could not pass by not opening those internal disciplinary proceedings. From there, we are going to wait for the case to be resolved urgently, which is very limited with two people involved and there is not much to investigate.
Serbia, who depended on a victory over China to advance regardless of the outcome of the match between Japanese and Mexicans, didn’t get the result they needed. They pushed the pool winners to five sets before falling 3-2 (19-25, 25-18, 25-11, 25-27, 15-12).
Chinese captain Yushan Zhuang was on fire again as the 20-year-old outside hitter produced 19 points (14 kills, four aces, one block) for her team. On the Serbian side, outside hitter Una Vajagic was the most effective player, with 17 points (14 kills, one ace, two blocks).
Francos’ comments come amid increasing pressure on Rubiales.
On Tuesday, a day after Rubiales apologized and admitted he “made a mistake” kissing Hermoso, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Rubiales’ apology was “not enough.”
Sánchez saidIt is true that there has been some behavior, in this case of Mr. Rubiales, which shows that in our country there is still a long way to go in terms of equality and respect and in this equalization of rights between women and men.
The apologies made by Mr. Rubiales are not enough. I even think that they are not appropriate and that, therefore, Mr. Rubiales needs to continue to take steps to clarify what we all saw.
Politicians across the political spectrum in Spain also echoed the PM’s criticism.
Yolanda Díaz, Spain’s acting second deputy prime minister and leader of the Sumar party, said in a press conference.We maintain our asking of the resignation of the gentleman who belittled and assaulted a woman. His excuses serve absolutely nothing.
In an interview with Spanish newspaper ABC on Tuesday, Spain center-back Irene Paredes said that the unwanted kiss was “an unfortunate gesture,” but that she and the team hoped that it wouldn’t “tarnish everything” the squad achieved at the Women’s World Cup.
2023 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship: Match Schedule and Results
On Pool F, in Aguascalientes, Italy and Brazil entered the last day of the second phase guaranteed in the semifinals, but still had to duel for the top spot in the pool. The Europeans started behind but came back strong to get a 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-15, 26-24) win, beat the South Americans for the second time in a week, and remain undefeated on the tournament.
Opposite Anna Adelusi had a stellar performance, leaving the court with 23 points (19 kills, one ace, three blocks) for the Italians – outside hitter Dominika Giuliani also had a strong night, with 19 points (15 kills, one ace, three blocks). Middle blocker Juliana Gandra scored 12 (ten kills, two blocks) for Brazil.
On the other match of the pool, the United States overcame Türkiye 3-1 (25-23, 16-25, 25-20, 25-21) with 19 points from outside hitter Skyler Pierce – Turkish opposite Beren Yesilirmak was the match’s top scorer, with 20.
Eliminated in the second round, Serbia, Mexico, the United States, and Türkiye will now play for positions from 5th-9th.
In the playoffs from 13th-16th, the Dominican Republic topped Tunisia 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 25-22), Argentina swept Poland 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-18), the Netherlands defeated Cuba 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-23), and Egypt ground to secure a 3-2 (22-25, 25-16, 16-25, 25-9, 15-11) triumph over Thailand.
Now, while Argentina, Poland, Cuba, and the Netherlands will play for positions 9th-12th, Egypt, Thailand, the Dominican Republic, and Tunisia will compete for spots 13th-16th.
There will be no matches going on in Leon or Aguascalientes on Thursday, with competition resuming on Friday.
