Post by doctordubya on May 20, 2004 4:42:10 GMT -5
The field for the Olympic Men's Volleyball will be decided by the final three qualifying tournaments, taking place over the next two weeks. The competitors are as follows:
(Spain qualifier)
Spain, Cuba, Netherlands, Cameroon
The hosts will rely on Rafe Pascual, as ever, but that probably won't be enough to overcome Cuba and the Netherlands. One of those two will go through. Cuba have spent the past couple of years rebuilding, following the defection of their stars (Dennis, the Hernandez brothers, Roca, Marshall) to Europe; Netherlands also have a young squad, but experienced world-class players in Goertzen, Schuil and Nummerdor should make the difference. I would back Netherlands to qualify narrowly with Cuba just missing out. Cameroon will be outclassed.
(Portugal qualifier)
Poland, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Venezuela
A very much weaker pool in this qualifier - Cuba and Netherlands would have the beating of all of these teams. Portugal have been reasonably competitive in the World League and Venezuela have a decent team and one star in Gomez, but Poland are probably favourites.
(Japan qualifier)
Japan, Algeria, Canada, France, Korea, China, Australia, Iran
This tournament includes the Asian region qualifier, so the winner of the tournament plus the best Asian team will go to Athens.
With their strong showing in international tournaments over the past couple of years, France should win this tournament; but have been in a bit of a slump of late. Korea and Japan are the most likely candidates for the Asian slot, and both are capable of beating France. Australia and Canada will be competitive, but it would be a surprise if either qualified. Iran and Algeria are rank outsiders.
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