Groningen, Netherlands, June 20, 2015 - Portugal won their first match of the 2015 FIVB World League with 3-2 (15-25, 25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 15-11) over Netherlands in Pool E.
Netherlands coach Gido Vermeulen: In the first set our volleyball was world class. I think we only made one or two mistakes. After that we were not focused enough. Portugal started to fight hard, in every possible way, and we didn’t react good to this. If we want to keep competing for the first place in this pool, we have to win every match from now on.
Netherlands captain Nimir Abdelaziz: Last week the Portuguese lost their first match against the Belgians with 3-0. One day later they won two sets, and almost the match. Based on this information we knew they were able to do what they showed today. Portugal managed to distract us, and we couldn’t turn it around. Now we have to win our matches against Finland and Belgium to keep our Final Four dream alive.
Portugal coach Hugo Silva: I am very happy we won this match. Our team fought really hard for the victory today. After yesterday’s match, we concluded that we should receive and serve better. The good thing is the team did this today. This is our first victory in the World League in 2015, and therefore very important. We will keep on fighting in the following matches like we did today.
Portugal player Alexandre Ferreira: This win is very important for us, since it’s our first in the World League this year. Compared to yesterday, today we played more like a team. This is very important in volleyball. It was an emotional match today, but we like to play like this. I think it was a great match to see for the people.