Argentina’s Wilson Acosta consoles emotional captain of Egypt Abdelrahman Elhossiny Jr with a sportsmanlike hug after the bronze medal match
Tunis, Tunisia, August 30, 2019 – Argentina claimed the bronze medals at the 2019 FIVB Boys’ U19 Volleyball World Championship in Tunis after managing a 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-17) win over Egypt in the third place match on Friday. Here is what some of the participants told fivb.com after the match.
Hassan Elhossary, head coach of Egypt: “We had a chance for the bronze medal, but my players were very tired. It was too much to play the eighthfinals, the quarterfinals, the semifinals and the finals on four consecutive days. It would have been nice to have one day of rest for recovery before the semis. Anyway, we did not manage to win, but my players did their best. I am happy and very proud of them.”
Abdelrahman Elhossiny Eissa, captain of Egypt: “We wanted the medal so much, but I don’t know what happened. Luck wasn’t with us today.”
Pablo Rico, head coach of Argentina: “I am very happy because my team played very well and got the job done. It is very difficult for me to speak at this moment... I am happy with the way the entire World Championship went for us. The team kept improving and played better and better every day.”
Wilson Acosta, opposite of Argentina, best scorer of the match on 24 points: “We are very happy because we know how much time, effort, dedication and sacrifice we put in for this throughout the year. Some people did not believe we could achieve this. Winning the bronze is a wonderful completion of this tournament for us and we can say we have achieved what we came here for.”