CCB

Like Netherlands did yesterday as well against Canada. The Dutch loss was so unnecessary. 35 errors was way too much! Lucky for you Argentina will qualify anyways, but for The Netherlands it will be very very hard now.

will qualify from the last subdivision and will end on the 13th place. Big disappointment for them, but there was nothing more in it. That means only 1 Dutch male gymnast (Casimir Schmidt) will make it to Paris.

Exactly. This qualification system is a mess. And the match schedule and order of matches will determine which country wins the last Olympic ticket.

Well deserved. Netherlands played okay today, but simply not good enough.

Well, after tomorrow's matches the difference between Netherlands and Canada won't be 30 points. If Netherlands lose against Dominican Republic (f.e. 0-3) and Canada wins against Czech Republic (3-0), the difference is only 11/12 points. Not an unrealistic scenario, given the shape of The Netherlands and Dominican Republic in this tournament. In the VNL there are plenty of opportunities for the Netherlands and Canada to win and score a lot of points. Many higher ranked countries will rest their stars ahead of the Olympics. The draw and the order of the matches will be decisive in the battle for the last ticket. For example: it makes a big difference whether you play against Serbia without Boskovic in the first week, or with Boskovic in week 3. So when the schedule is announced, we will know more. The above is subject to the condition that Germany does not qualify for the Games this weekend. Otherwise there will be no tickets left for Canada and the Netherlands.

Serbia is simply too good today. It makes the - 3-1-result of yesterday much more impressive. Well, this 3-0 loss of Netherlands opens up Canada's chances to qualify again.

Somehow managed to win this crazy game against .Three matchpoints saved in the fourth set, but what happened with Chinese volleyball? They were very weak at the deciding points. Crazy poule with 5 teams that still have a chance to qualify.

With the loss of Poland, the chance that Germany will get a ticket has increased again. The Netherlands already sees the misery: if two lower-ranked countries (Canada and Germany) qualify, the Netherlands will not go to the Olympic Games. That would be a huge downer.

Wow! What a major result for Canada. Will be very close in this group, but Canada definitely has a good chance to qualify.

Especially not because this summer Belgium failed to qualify for next years VNL. So basically this tournament is their last chance to grab some points for the ranking.

I really expected Belgium had a chance to upset the favourites in this group, but I was completely wrong. Sad for Belgium to miss Britt Herbots when it matters most.

Korea is 36th in the world, Colombia 21st. That'quite a difference. But I agree, losing a set against Colombia isn't impressive either. But still I think Germany has a good chance for a win against Poland (and in the last game against USA).

I think Germany makes a good chance too. Especially when Poland is in a bad form, Italy misses a lot of their good players and USA is the last opponent of Germany (I fear USA is already qualified by then and will give rest to some of their best players).

Conclusion: this qualifying system is crappy. However, very happy with today's win against . Hopefully can add some ranking points in the remaining matches.

Well, finally we can congrat you @Josh. Really sad way to start the tournament for The Netherlands, but they were really choking in het 1st, 4th and especially 5th set. I expected a lot more, but in the end: we lost in recent months two times against Canada, so we have to admit Canada is really the better one now. Good luck in the rest of the tournament; I give Canada just a small chance to beat Serbia and China, but fighting spirit they have, so who knows!!

There is nothing left of the Dutch European Champs-vibe. They are completely stressed and make so many mistakes. And Canada plays really well. Congrats @Josh in advance.

Netherlands and Japan played three friendly matches. Two 3-0 wins for Japan, one 3-2 win for The Netherlands. Other results from friendly matches?

I read it yesterday. That's not a good sign for their Olympic chances.

Unbelievable championships for . Five gold medals and ten boats qualified for the Olympics is way more than expected. Only 11 months to go before Paris. Hopefully we can keep this level up!

Tomorrow big day for Dutch rowing. The Dutch Olympic champions in the M4x (Quadruple Sculls) will fight for a world title against last year's World Champs Poland, Italy, Great Britain, Germany and Switzerland. Since European skiff champion Lennart van Lierop entered the boat in June, things have started going well. It proves that one change can make a big difference. This is - together with the women's skiff Karolien Florijn on Sunday - the biggest chance for a Dutch world title. in 9 finals this weekend, very curious about the outcome.

In my opinion it depends on Hannah Ohrtmann can compete or not. She got injured at the ECh, hopefully she is able to play. Though competition nevertheless for Germany with Poland (and their crazy but lovely home crowd), USA and Italy. But is not in a good shape and Paola Egonu is not selected. I would even select her with a broken foot, but the Italian coach decided not to. as well is not in the best form, they lost the final of the Continental championships against Dominican Republic. All by all Germany has a chance, but it will be very difficult.

Yes, Belgium, when their star player Britt Herbots is able to play, Belgium can surprise a lot of teams, however they messed up their home European Champs. is also in this group, they didn't impress either in their continental tournament. But normally and will get the quotas.

Don't underestimate the teams of Czech Republic (who won against Germany at the ECh) and especially Ukraine. I think all the teams in this group will have to play at a good level to beat these teams. Will be a close battle, but in the end I predict and to win the quotas. In the other groups: B: and , but watch out for C: and

Good results in the preliminary round for our 10 desired Olympic boats. Only the Men Eight expected more. The Dutch federation did everything possible for a gold medal for the Men's Eight, but we were just over 2 seconds behind GB today. Sometimes it seems as if the Men's Eight is the only thing that counts in the Netherlands, because we accidentally won Olympic gold in 1996. I'm very happy with every boat that qualifies for the Olympics and even happier with every medal.

Dominican Republic won the NORCECA Championships and also gained a lot of points for their 3-2 win against USA. Netherlands and Dominican Republic both have 286 points now.