Brazil, Serbia, Russia and the United States to play in WL semifinal

(BEIJING, July 26) -- Defending World League champion and final round host Brazil defeated Japan on Friday, July 25, and will face the United States in the semifinals of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) 2008 World League. Serbia defeated Poland, setting up a semifinal match against Russia.

Brazil dropped Japan 25-16, 25-23, 25-15, putting them atop pool E with four points from two wins. Brazil has held the World League crown since 2003 and won gold Athens in 2004. Russia finished second in the pool with three points; Japan, the wild-card entry in the final round, was kept winless.

"The Japanese did what they could. Brazil started the match concentrated, but did not keep it during all the time," said Brazilian head coach Bernardo Rezende after the match. "We made more mistakes than we did in the first match."

Serbia secured first place in pool F by defeating Poland 25-16, 25-18, 25-22, finishing with four points and an undefeated record in the final round. Serbia was the gold medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games and won silver at the 2007 European championship. The United States, third-place finisher at the 2007 World League and fourth-place finisher at the 2007 World Cup, claimed the second spot. Poland lost both of its final round matches, finishing in third place with two points.

"I am really satisfied with my team. We showed a lot of character, since we played well from the beginning to the end," said Serbian head coach Igor Kolakovic, "Poland started the match in bad shape and we knew how to take advantage of that."

Both semifinal matches take place on Saturday, July 26. Brazil takes on the United States at 10:00 a.m. (UTC/GMT -3), while Serbia will play Russia at 1:15 p.m. (UTC/GMT -3).

The FIVB World League concludes on Sunday.