Questo martedì, in uno degli incontri più intensi degli ottavi di finale, il Belgio ha trionfato sulla Slovenia per 3-1 e si è assicurato un posto nella Top 8 del Campionato del Mondo U19 FIVB 2023 dopo 16 anni.

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Eliot De Vleeschhauwer è stato il top scorer della partita con 20 punti ed ha espresso grande soddisfazione per il passo significativo compiuto dalla sua squadra a San Juan:

"È stata una partita molto equilibrata. Penso che abbiamo giocato molto bene e anche la Slovenia ha giocato bene, ma alla fine siamo usciti vincitori".

Belgium won 3 out of their 4 games in Pool D against Chile, Brazil and Mexico. For the opposite hitter, it was in the Preliminary Round where his team achieved a mental breakthrough: "The win against Brazil was a big moment for us. It was a great match and changed something in our minds."

This victory allowed them to solidify their second place in the standings and had a motivating effect on Eliot and his teammates: "We realized we can also win against the best teams here."

For Mieke Moyaert's team, the victory against Slovenia wasn't just about advancing one step closer to the title but also about returning to the group of the top 8 teams in the tournament, something they hadn't accomplished since their debut in U19 World Championships in 2007.

Belgium qualified 3 more times after that but finished 9th in 2013, 17th in 2017 and 11th in 2021. Now, they will seek to achieve their best historical performance when facing Iran in the quarter-finals.

Eliot valued what they have achieved so far and dared to dream about continuing on this path: "We are very happy with what we have done so far. I see a lot of smiles on my teammates' faces and I'm happy too. I hope we can keep the track."

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