JAPAN vs FRANCE | GOLD MEDAL MATCH | Highlights | Men's VNL 2024. France will play in front of their home fans at the Paris 2024 Games in a few weeks as not only the defending Olympic champions, but also the reigning Volleyball Nations League gold medalists after they triumphed in the sixth edition of the tournament, which came to an end on Sunday, in Łódź.
The French completed their VNL 2024 campaign in a strong way, taking down the secondbest team in the FIVB World Rankings, Japan, 31 (2523, 1825, 2523, 2523) in a packed Atlas Arena. Hosts Poland finished third and completed the podium.
Opposite Jean Patry was a differencemaker for France in the gold medal match, leading all scorers with 24 points (20 kills, three blocks, one ace). Kevin Tillie played a big role off the bench, tallying 13 points, while fellow outside hitter Yacine Louati added another 11.
“Japan are always tough opponents,” Patry celebrated. “They are very skilled, extremely patient and they dig everything. We try to be patient when we play them, but it’s always a challenge to remain focused the entire time. Winning the VNL is excellent in our preparation for the Paris Games, which is our main goal for the season. Our goal was to make it to the semifinals, so there’s nothing better than winning gold. We have a lot of guys who can come in and help the team and that’s one of our main strengths.”
On the Japanese side, captain Yuki Ishikawa had another excellent performance, leading the team with 17 points (all in kills), followed by opposite Yuji Nishida, who registered 11. Fellow opposite Kento Miyaura also got to double digits, coming off the bench to score ten points.
“We’re very happy that we made it to the final, but today it was a tough match,” Ishikawa reflected. “Congrats to France for winning the title. Playing in the final was a great experience for us and it will help as we prepare for the Olympics.”
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