2006 World Championships
Estonia surprise all in Men’s World Championship (FIVB)
06/09/2005
June
9, 2005 – With a world ranking of 50 and a population of
only 1.3 million, Estonia have become the fairytale
story of the 2006 Men’s World Championship having
advanced with amazing determination and skill from the
first round right through to the third round of the
competition in Europe.
Estonia’s miracle run has seen them win five out of six
matches and advance to one step away from the final
round in Japan along side such European Volleyball
heavyweights as Bulgaria, Turkey, the Czech Republic,
the Ukraine, Portugal, Finland and Germany. However,
Estonia is the only side to have started in round one. Pic: Estonia have won five out six matches so far in
the 2006 Men's World Championship
These eight teams will now join the eight “golden teams”
of Europe – Italy, Serbia & Montenegro, France, Poland,
Russia, Netherlands, Greece and Spain for three
exhilarating third round tournaments from which nine
tickets to the final round will be on offer.
“Estonia’s surprise performance once again highlights
the wonderful competitive format of the World Championships,”
FIVB President Dr. Rubén Acosta said. “Particularly
when a side like Estonia can advance through two rounds and
confirm a date against some of the world’s superpowers.”
It’s a fairytale story for the Eastern Europeans as they
started in the first round in April, beating Israel,
Bosnia Herzegovina and Albania to finish top of the
group on their home soil in Tallinn.
From there it was on to bigger and brighter things as
they claimed a spectacular second-place finish behind
Portugal and ahead of Latvia and Austria in a second
round tournament in Vila de Conde. Their only loss was
to the hosts who are ranked 18th in the world.
Estonia, are now confirmed to play international
heavyweights Russia, ranked fourth in the world, Poland,
ranked seventh, and world number 13 Bulgaria in a third
round tournament in Rzeszow, Poland from July 15-17.
