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ITALY AND CROATIA IN THE FINAL
European Youth Olympic Festival 2005
Luxembourg/San Giorgio di Nogaro, July 08, 2005. Italy and Croatia are the two teams that have qualified for the final match of the European Youth Olympic Festival 2005 in San Giorgio di Nogaro (ITA). Whilst the Italian host team beat the Netherlands 3:0 in the first semifinal match, the Croatians overcame the Poles with the same score.The last encounter between Italy and Croatia took place in April in Tallinn (EST) where the two youth girls’ teams fought for the bronze medal in the European Youth Championship 2005 earlier this year. Italy managed to beat 2003 European Champion Croatia 3:1. Now it’s Croatia’s opportunity to take revenge, but they will need to resist the Italian home support.
After one hour of play the Italians secured their final spot defeating the Dutch in straight sets with Costagrande (14 points) and Cecioni (13 points) scoring most points. Despite a weak serving performance the Italians played confident, reacted quick and placed the ball accurately.
Croatia led the other semifinal holding their opponent under constant pressure. Although the sets were pretty close, the Croatians always had the last say. Their effective blocking and attacking game, in particular by best scorer Hana Cutura (17 points), finally brought them the 3:0 victory.
The final will take place on Friday at 16.00 hrs local time after the bronze medal match (14.00 hrs).
Results
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Thursday, 7th July 2005 |
5th - 8th place |
CZE - BEL |
3:1 |
22-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-14 |
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5th - 8th place |
FRA - SVK |
3:0 |
25-20, 25-23, 25-19 |
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1st semifinal |
CRO - POL |
3:0 |
25-19, 25-23, 25-22 |
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2st semifinal |
ITA - NED |
3:0 |
25-19, 25-11, 25-18 |
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Friday, 8th July 2005 |
7th - 8th place |
SVK - BEL |
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5th - 6th place |
FRA - CZE |
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Bronze medal match |
POL - NED |
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Final |
CRO - ITA |
Pool A
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Monday, 4th July 2005 |
CZE - POL |
2:3 |
26-24, 15-25, 25-20, 19-25, 10-15 |
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ITA - SVK |
3:0 |
25-15, 25-15, 25-13 |
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Tuesday, 5th July 2005 |
CZE - SVK |
3:1 |
19-25, 25-13, 25-11, 25-23 |
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ITA - POL |
3:1 |
25-19, 26-24, 24-26, 25-16 |
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Wednesday, 6th July 2005 |
POL - SVK |
3:0 |
25-22, 25-19, 25-18 |
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ITA - CZE |
3:0 |
25-17, 25-19, 25-16 |
Final Ranking Pool A
|
1. |
Italy |
6 points |
9:1 |
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2. |
Poland |
5 points |
7:5 |
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3. |
Czech Republic |
4 points |
5:7 |
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4. |
Slovakia |
3 points |
1:9 |
Pool B
|
Monday, 4th July 2005 |
CRO - NED |
3:2 |
22-25, 25-17, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13 |
|
BEL - FRA |
0:3 |
17-25, 23-25, 18-25 |
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Tuesday, 5th July 2005 |
NED - BEL |
3:1 |
25-15, 25-18, 26-28, 25-21 |
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CRO - FRA |
3:0 |
25-16, 25-17, 25-15 |
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Wednesday, 6th July 2005 |
CRO - BEL |
3:0 |
25-22, 25-18, 25-14 |
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FRA - NED |
0:3 |
11-25, 12-25, 21-25 |
Final Ranking Pool B
|
1. |
Croatia |
6 points |
9:2 |
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2. |
Netherlands |
5 points |
8:4 |
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3. |
France |
4 points |
3:6 |
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4. |
Belgium |
3 points |
1:9 |
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