European teams are making a bold push for upsets as they enter the men's semifinals of the Veracruz Challenge, part of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, with surprising performances and determined play.
Strong Showings from Lower-Seeded Teams
Italy’s duo of Samuele Cottafava and Gianluca Dal Corso, seeded 22nd—the lowest remaining in the tournament—has stunned fans by toppling some of the highest-ranked competitors. Their journey included:
- A dramatic win over Ukraine’s fifth-seeded Sergiy Popov and Eduard Reznik.
- A quarterfinal takedown of Swiss players Adrian Heidrich and Jonathan Jordan.
This sets up a much-anticipated clash with top-seeded Americans Miles Evans and Chase Budinger, who advanced after narrowly defeating England’s Bello twins in three sets (21-19, 18-21, 15-13) and downing Austria’s Christoph Dressler and Philipp Waller in straight sets.
Brazil vs Switzerland in the Other Semifinal
Brazil’s George Wanderley and Saymon Barbosa, the No. 3 seeds, have been in dominant form. Saymon has scored an impressive 46 points across their two recent matches, securing back-to-back wins over:
- Norwegian pair Nils Gunnar Ringoen and Even Stray Aas
- American team Chaim Schalk and James Shaw
They now face Swiss underdogs Yves Haussener and Julian Friedli, seeded 19th. The Swiss earned their semifinal spot by eliminating the U.S. team of Robert Wyatt Harrison and Cody Caldwell, and winning a hard-fought three-set battle against the Netherlands' Ruben Penninga and Matthew Immers.
What’s Next in Veracruz
Sunday's semifinal matches begin at 10:00 local time (16:00 UTC). The day will conclude with the bronze medal match at 14:00 (20:00 UTC), followed by the championship match at 15:00 (21:00 UTC).
This event is critical for teams seeking valuable tour points and positioning ahead of the 2025 season's competitive calendar.
Read the full report on the Volleyball World website here.
