Krakow, Poland, July 15, 2016 - While Serbia have already secured their spot in the FIVB Volleyball World League 2016 Group 1 semifinals, their opponents on Friday, France, are in a must-win situation. Any kind of victory of the incumbent champions over last year's other finalists would allow them to continue the defence of their 2015 title.
Head-to-Head
• Serbia (including Serbia and Montenegro) and France have met 20 times in the World League. France won 12 of these encounters, Serbia eight.
• Serbia have won six of their last eight World League encounters with France.
• However, the French have won each of the last two, including last season's World League final 3-0 en route to their first ever World League trophy.
• France have not beaten Serbia in three successive World League meetings since 2002, when they defeated them four times in a row.
Serbia
• Serbia have won their last two matches, against Italy and Poland after losing two in a row against Iran and Argentina.
• Serbia have finished in the top three in eight different World League seasons, but have yet to claim a gold medal in the tournament.
• Uros Kovacevic scored 100 spikes. She scored a team-high 118 points in the 2016 World League.
France
• France have lost their last two matches at the World League and can lose three in a row for the first time since they lost their opening four matches in 2013.
• France lost their last match against Poland after five sets. They have now lost their last three five-set matches. Their last five-set win came against Poland in 2015 en route to their World League victory.
• Antonin Rouzier scored 123 points for France, most of the team. He also scored a team-high 114 spikes.