Cuba to play in the Volleyball World Cup in Slovenia

Havana, July 7 (JIT) - Cuba will play the Men's Volleyball World Championship in Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, which will host groups B, D, E and F, while Poland will host groups A and C in the match scheduled from August 26 to September 11.

The international sports federation (FIVB) announced on its website the confirmation of both countries as organizers and the location of the contenders, as well as the celebration in the Polish city of Katowice of the semifinal and the discussion of medals.

The Antillean team is in Group B along with Brazil, Japan and Qatar; France, Slovenia, Germany and Cameroon in Group D; Italy, Canada, Turkey and China in Group E; and Argentina, Iran, the Netherlands and Egypt in Group F.

Meanwhile, division A is made up of Serbia, Tunisia, Puerto Rico and Ukraine (which replaced Russia after the latter was declared ineligible for any sporting event), and division C: the United States, Mexico, Bulgaria and host Poland.

Ljubljana will host the group preliminaries (August 26-31), the round of 16 (September 3-6) and the quarterfinals (September 7-8) of this 20th edition of the global showpiece.

In the other European country, Katowice will host the key elimination round, then the other two phases will be held in Gliwice, and the last two days (September 10-11) the actions return to the first city to complete the 52 matches to be held during the championship.   

The FIVB announced that among the nations that will headline the opening day -August 26- is Poland, reigning world champions and co-hosts, who will begin their title defense against Bulgaria in Katowice.

Meanwhile, 2018 runner-up Brazil will have net through Cuba in Ljubljana, and tournament debutants Qatar play a historic first match against Japan, also in the Slovenian capital.

The United States, bronze medalists three years ago, will face Mexico, while Slovenia, making its second appearance at a World Cup, makes its debut against Cameroon.

Likewise, the French, Olympic champions in Tokyo, begin their quest for a first world title with a challenge against European rivals Germany.

The competition formula for the 24 teams competing in six groups of four begins with a round-robin system.

The first two places in each group and the four best teams in third place will qualify for the knockout round of 16, which will define the quarterfinal stage.