Sydney, Australia, June 17, 2016 – Italy may have the right win-loss record against Belgium as they prepare to clash in Pool A1 of the FIVB Volleyball World League, but the Belgians go into the match with the bragging rights.
Head-to-Head
· Belgium and Italy have never met in the World League.
· These teams have faced each other 19 times at World Championships, European Championships and European Games. Italy won 14 times and Belgium five times.
· Their most recent encounter came at the 2015 European Games. Belgium won by 3-2.
Belgium
· Belgium claimed a straight sets victory against Australia on Friday. This win broke a three-match losing streak in the World League, their joint-longest in the competition.
· For the third time in three participations, Belgium start with a victory. In the previous two campaigns they registered a win in the second match as well.
· With their victory, Belgium improved their winning percentage at the World League to 66% (W19-L10). This ranks fourth among teams with 20+ matches played, behind only Brazil, Italy and Russia.
Italy
· Italy suffered a straight-set defeat against France in the opener. This was Italy’s 125th World League defeat, joining France for sixth-most in the competition.
· For the first time since 2008, Italy failed to win the first match of the campaign. Italy have never lost the first two matches in a World League season.
· Italy have now lost six of their last eight World League matches, as many as in their previous 14 matches combined.