Poland 🇵🇱 vs. Netherlands 🇳🇱 - Highlights | Men's World Championships 2025

And Thomas Fornal will get us underway. The Netherlands waiting and that's coming straight back over. There's one cannonball straight away. It's what Joel Banks feared. If Poland get their service right. Koops. That's more like Leon's style and here he goes. Jurema pops it up for Burkhardt and then Koops comes arriving from the backcourt. There's a little bit of help from the tape but hey we all need a little bit of an assistance occasionally. This is why I always talk about opening up that zone in the backcourt because you can see after this ball comes up it's a great dig to keep it alive on the back and then he went to his middle so he's really got the blockers moving. Sowaldja Komenda and then Fornal will just say I'll have a bit of that as well and from 8-7 down to 9-8 up. BBTV friend Mark Lebedew looking after Ubert and Kurek on their return to form. Nicely mixed up by Fabian Placke. What you need to do is not reinventing the wheel. Plunge down, pancake and he's done it once more. Fornal. We're going to get some Joel Banks-isms as well before the day is over. Okay when we do the interviews in between sets. Joel have you just got where you go your favorite idiom? Hey you know what it just depends on the mood down there and how the coaches are feeling. Sometimes you can get them to talk about cats and sometimes your own strength to the best of your abilities. Over the next Nemeer will be the first Mitch Iey. Dunstrup flings out an arm and it's a great dig and here comes Copes off the net. Komenda. Kurek versus three and there's nothing nothing Iey can do. What they may be doing but at the moment hey they're leading 21-19. That's a great serve. It's another ace. Tom Copes. Right I can't believe Nikola Gurvich is happy and he's not. Focus from Kurek at the end line. Who else would you want serving? Possibly Leon but he's done a great job so far. It's another singing serve. Here comes Iey. Off the hand. Fornal and the Netherlands have taken the first set against the world number one and BNL champions Poland. Everything is earned quote Nikola Gurvich. Well Poland are going to earn their spurs now. We're coming back in this second set. We're underway and the first point goes to Leon. The great libero himself has got a hip problem at the moment. Even he's got to be impressed by his standing. Successor. Well played by Komenda. Beautifully played back in and then Kurek unleashes but it's came straight back over. Free ball. Take two. The offense is picking up on Poland's side. Something we saw early days. We've got two aces already remember. He's gone for Fornal. Eight service errors for Poland. Just four for the Netherlands and they've had more aces. Iey arrives. The issue was Fornal. Tunstrup got onto that and Bergkamp has to shift away and then the block does the job. They could see what was coming. Belgian middle blocker last night. He's got an abdominal injury and every time he swings it hurts hugely. Lovely swing by Kurek. Looking one way and sending in another. They've got a setter on court as you might say because at the moment Bergkamp is off. Just off the net as well. And if in doubt you just feed Kokonowski. Keep it fast. Trying to toughen up the Dutch block and it's Michaj on serve. How about an ace? Pavicic will keep that off the ground and Kurek will try and put it down and yes he does. Two set points. The Rolls-Royce just glides into view. Second set. I'm looking forward to an interview with Nikola Jurpich. It'll be fun. Make him smile. Here comes Kurek. Off the hands. Never in doubt. He'll be happy to see you. 25-23 Poland level. Set three. Semenyuk gets his underway for Poland and it's into the net. Jurpich and all the coaches will say once you start to get into the knockout stages then these players know right this is when it starts to matter and we've got to start going through the gears. That's a great swing. You can't win the world championship in this match. You could lose it if you lose the match. You've just got to find your way forward. It's a free ball and here comes Fornal trying to put it away but he is ready for that one. Taunstra's got a triple block. Looks for the little hole but Pavicic is there and Kurek will try to put it away and that's exactly what the Polish captain does. Still hanging in there once at all and just a point behind as coach winds himself up. Fornal almost takes the lights out and then he'll go again and certainly puts the lights out in Jorna. What a sweet swing. What could come for the Netherlands and they've just got to keep believing in themselves, keep the pressure on the other side of the net. Good serve reception. Berkhout is off the net and Jorna was almost going for the same ball. Taunstra will try to put it through but that's a big block. Kofodovsky there. There are 18 places between these two in the world rankings as I.E. skims the net and here comes Fornal. Welcome to the court Seba Kolomblek. No wonder he's getting mobbed by his teammates and Poland will have something to think about once more. Kofodovsky. Nice pass and then Kolomblek. He could probably just step over the net. Semenyuk. Oh that's absolutely rifled into position A. What a good swing that is. Oh good pass. That's a big hit. Komenda will take that. That's all part of an occupational hazard. Looking to close out the set and there it is. Early in the second set. Five all. Little tweak by Nikola Gubic as Kudek almost takes the front row. Just to the right by position two. Here comes Koops arriving from the backcourt and that's dispatched. Now Nedlunds is going to jump that bandwagon too. Just one ace so far for Kudek but here's another. Samir's watching. He's got to be doffing his cap because this is really impressive. Mixing it up again. Fornal will take that and here's Kudek advancing and there's nothing that IE can do. Frustration. A little softer serve means it's coming back harder. So Fornal winds himself up. Berkowt very close to the net. And then cross court. Great deep by Tunstad and that's over the joust at the net. Berkowt is waiting. Here comes IE. Oh Kokunovsky. Advantage ends up in the Polish side. Not the best set by Berkowt and then Jorna's in his way and Tunstad will try and put it down but the block is just there and Kokunovsky smiles. Disappeared into the locker room. That's a bit more like it. Well that's a big block. Plac on Uber. Big moment for the Netherlands. Kornblok took some heat off of his serve. You could tell it ends up being a perfect pass but Steady as he goes. You could just sense we haven't had a special from him. Well there he does it of Poland and now the world number one team have a one-point lead. Semenyuk on serve. It's another ace and this run could well be decisive. Oh it's another ace and this has turned the tide quite dramatically and he knows it. They need a side out. That'll do nicely and that'll do even better. 23-22. Maan with four aces to his name already. IE. It's in play. Semenyuk. Dribble block is ready. Oh he's landed in as well. Koch couldn't manage to provide the dig and that is two match points. Polish fans on their feet as Fornal prepares. That's a good serve. Janic back will try to put it in. He's put it out though and that's it. 25-22. Poland have come through. They lost the first set but they made no mistakes in sets two, three and four.