A 3-1 victory determined China women's volleyball knockout stage opponent, choosing between Brazil and France, must secure first place

On August 26th Beijing time, the third round of the Women's Volleyball World Championship group stage began. The spotlight match just ended with France rallying to beat Greece 3-1 in Group C, clinching a place in the last 16. Therefore, China’s Round of 16 opponent is set to be either Brazil or France. The exact opponent depends on the result against the Dominican Republic: finishing first means playing France, finishing second means facing Brazil!

France versus Greece. In the previous round, France led world No. 2 Brazil 2-0 but faded in the later sets, losing 2-3 and narrowly missing victory. Still, they earned a valuable point, ranking second in the group and holding the initiative to reach the top 16. Today, a win against Greece would secure qualification. If France performs like they did against Brazil, beating Greece should be straightforward!

After the match started, the French team was slow to warm up, committing many errors early on and facing strong offensive pressure, quickly falling behind to lose the first set 17-25. In the second set, France responded quickly, disrupting the opponent’s reception with serves and speeding up their attack to take the lead, winning 25-21 and leveling the match 1-1. The third set turned into a fierce back-and-forth battle, with scores tightly contested until France struck fast to win 28-26, taking a 2-1 lead. In the fourth set, France’s momentum exploded as they relentlessly attacked Greece, decisively winning 25-17 and sealing a 3-1 victory, securing their second win and a spot in the top 16!

Thus, China’s opponent is confirmed to be either France or Brazil. Who they face depends on China’s final group standing. It’s expected Brazil will win all three matches and finish first in the group. China has only one path: to defeat the Dominican Republic and claim first place, which would allow them to avoid Brazil and face the relatively weaker France. Hopefully, the Chinese team will embody the volleyball spirit and treat the Dominican Republic match as a do-or-die battle. Looking forward to good news—let’s go!

Written by/Ti Tan Novel