On Friday, 21 June, an exciting encounter in the Volleyball Nations League will take place between the Netherlands and Japan.
The Dutch team is currently positioned in thirteenth place and has lost all chances of qualifying for the playoffs, so they lack motivation to push themselves. The Dutch are on a streak of four defeats: to Iran (2-3), Brazil (1-3), Italy (0-3), and France (1-3). Their last victory came against Cuba (3-1) two weeks ago.
The Japanese team is currently advancing to the next stage but still risks dropping out of the top spots, so losing points in this series is unacceptable. In the last round, they were defeated by Canada (2-3), but the Canadians were on a high and then went on to demolish Germany (3-0). Japan has a solid squad, though there are still many mistakes in their play.
Since 2021, the teams have faced each other three times, with Japan emerging victorious in all encounters (3-1, 3-1, 3-2).
Japan should be fully geared up for this clash, as they need to solidify their position on the table. The Dutch, after a tough loss to Iran, are unlikely to pull themselves together, and there is little point for them to put in much effort. I believe Japan should secure a steady victory with a points handicap of (-5.5) at 1.60.
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