Head coach of Men’s Volleyball National team Montenegro commented drawing of Qualifiers group for Euro Volley 2023. Recall, the draw awarded to Montenegrin volleyball players for rivals national teams of Portugal, Luxembourg and Iceland.
“As it has already been announced, we get opponents in the Qualifiers for the Euro Volley 2023. When you look at other groups, the impression is that in our group, one of the toughest rivals is Portugal. Namely, Portugal was a participant in the last Euro Volley 2021 and left an extraordinary impression. They finished 4th in the Preliminary phase behind Poland, Serbia and Ukraine, but ahead of Belgium and Greece. Therefore, they achieved 1/8 finals of Euro Volley 2021 and almost made a surprise against the Netherlands (they lost 3:2 in a dramatic match). Luxembourg and Iceland are also in our group. I guess Luxembourg will be better than Iceland and therefore the points against Iceland if they are 4th will not count. So against Luxembourg we have to go for two clean wins and six points and then with Portugal to lead a big fight for first place in the group. I hope that we will have good preparations for the upcoming qualifications, that all players will be in full form and ready to respond to the challenge. Despite the fact that we have a very good opponent, I believe in the quality and capabilities of our volleyball players and I expect successful results and placement on Euro Volley 2023”, said Milenkoski.