Sweep against then-world No. 5 Japan, win against Libya, another sweep against No. 8 Canada. Turkiye continues to make a statement and they're not done doing so at the FIVB Men's World Championship.
When World No. 16 Turkiye shocked then-No. 5 Japan via sweep at the beginning of pool play in the 2025 FIVB Men's World Championship, coach Slobodan Kovac said he was out to prove something.
That he was out to show Turkiye was not a normal team.
[ALSO READ: FIVB: Turkiye coach Slobodan Kovac makes statement win vs Japan on his birthday]
A 3-1 win against Libya, and an astounding 25-21, 25-16, 27-25 sweep of World No. 7 Canada later, and Turkiye is now at the top of Pool G.
Despite being already through to the Round of 16 before the match, Kovac did not want any sort of slack against Canada.
"I put them, understand, big pressure," he told One Sports after the match. "Because for us, this game is so important. Not only to be first in the group, but, you know, raking points."
[ALSO READ: Turkiye sweeps Canada to top Pool G at FIVB Men’s World Championship]
His strict mindset has definitely affected his players, such as opposite spiker Adis Lagumdzija, who fired 15 attack points against Canada.
"We came here to compete. I mean, I think we showed that," he told reporters. "We showed that we can compete with the best teams."
Adis admitted that they were initially prepared for a tough time against Japan. But when Turkiye won, it was just the boost they needed to roll past everyone else in the group.
"We said, okay, we can compete. We knew that already, but this is confirmation. So now, there is no team that can defeat us in our mind, so we just need to push and play," he said.
Turkiye now awaits either Poland or the Netherlands in the knockout stage. And they're going to take every edge they can get.
"Because we play physical volleyball. I think somebody told me that we are the highest team in the tournament. So, we need to use that to our advantage," he explained.
"And when we defend and block like we did today, because the ball was never going to the ground. We do that, but there is no team that we cannot beat," Lagumdzija said.
"So, when we do that really good, we are like, unbeatable."
Katrina Alba is a sports journalist and producer, notably with SportsCenter Philippines before taking on her current role at One Sports.
She primarily writes about basketball and volleyball, with experience covering the SEA Games, Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. Outside of work, her hobbies include running, swimming, pickleball, yoga, arnis, and krav maga.