Slovenia were runners-up in the European Championship
Ljubljana, Slovenia, June 16, 2016 – After winning last year's European League, the Slovenian men’s national team will face new challenges, this time in the FIVB World League.
Playing against Qatar, Tunisia and Venezuela will not be the only challenge for the Slovenians. They will be on show in front of their home fans for the first time since storming to the silver medal at the European Championship and becoming national heroes.
As a result, the expectations of Slovenia’s sports fans and media are much higher than in the past, and although the Slovenia team will play as favourites in Ljubljana, their opponents won't miss any chance to make an upset.
Qatar who finished fourth at the Asian Championship last year, are now led by Italian Roberto Piazza, who sees a lot of potential in his team which jumped 15 places in the FIVB Rankings in just one year.
The Tunisians have three years of experience in FIVB World League, plus an appearance at the 2012 Olympic Games and were runners-up in the African Championship. They are also expected to be tough opponents.
Vincenzo Nacci is another Italian at the helm of a national team and helped Venezuela to a bronze medal at the South American Championship. With a number of World Championship appearances, they are probably the most experienced team in Group 3.
All teams already practiced at the Arena Stožice Hall on Wednesday and Thursday and are keen to hear the first whistle of the historic Group 3 tournament in Ljubljana.