Berlin (AFP)

Germany in front of their audience and Slovenia, vice-champion of Europe, are the first teams qualified on Tuesday for the semi-finals of the Olympic qualification tournament in Berlin.

The Slovenians snatched their qualification by beating Germany, who was already certain to participate in the semi-finals before playing, and had left their best player György Grozer at rest.

This tournament, which will award the last European ticket for the Tokyo Games, pits eight teams divided into two pools. The top two from each pool play the semi-finals on Thursday, before the final on Friday.

Pool B will however deliver its verdict on Wednesday: Bulgaria, France and Serbia can still qualify, while the Netherlands are eliminated.

The defending European champions Serbs will have no room for error on Wednesday against Bulgaria (2.30 p.m.), which has made a strong impression so far. A 3-0 or 3-1 victory is imperative for them if they do not want to leave the tournament even before the semi-finals.

France, for its part, is on favorable terms. She will be in the semi-finals no matter what if she defeats the Netherlands (8:45 p.m.) on Wednesday, already eliminated. The Blues can even qualify before playing if Bulgaria defeats Serbia 3-0 or 3-1.

. Group A

Played Tuesday

Belgium - Rep. Czech 3-2 (21-25, 28-26, 25-20, 22-25, 19-17)

Germany - Slovenia 2 - 3 (34-32, 20-25, 25-19, 21-25, 12-15)

Already played

Slovenia - Belgium 3-0 (25-23, 28-26, 25-20)

Rep. Czech - Germany 0 - 3 (19-25, 22-25, 20-25)

Belgium - Germany 0-3 (18-25, 23-25, 24-26)

JGP classification pts Sp Sc Sp / Sc Pp Pc Pp / Pc

1. Germany 3 2 1 7 8 3 2.66 263 242 1.086

2. Slovenia 2 2 0 5 6 2 3 194 181 1.072

3. Belgium 3 1 2 2 3 8 0.375 249 267 0.933

4. Ans. Czech 2 0 2 1 2 6 0.333 174 190 0.916

Rest to play

Wednesday

(5.30 p.m.) Slovenia - Resp. Czech

. Group B

Played Tuesday

Bulgaria - Netherlands 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-15)

Already played

France - Serbia 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22)

Netherlands - Serbia 0 - 3 (18-25, 18-25, 17-25)

France - Bulgaria 2-3 (25-23, 17-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-8)

JGP classification Pts Sp Sc Sp / Sc Pp Pc Pp / Pc

1. Bulgaria 2 2 0 5 6 2 3 176 153 1.150

2. France 2 1 1 4 5 3 1.66 178 165 1.079

3. Serbia 2 1 1 3 3 3 1 139 128 1.086

4. Netherlands 2 0 2 0 0 6 0 103 150 0.687

Stay to play

Wednesday

(2.30 p.m.) Serbia - Bulgaria

(8:45 p.m.) France - Netherlands

Editor's note: a 3-0 or 3-1 victory is worth 3 points, a 3-2 victory is worth 2 points, 3-2 defeat is worth 1 point, a 3-0 or 3-1 defeat is worth 0 points. The first two in each group advance to the semi-finals. In the event of a tie, the teams are decided on the basis of total points, then the set ratio, the point ratio, the point ratio, then the direct matches.

© 2020 AFP