Victor over defending champ Italy. Top seed of Pool F. And yet, Ferre Reggers and Belgium consider themselves the undedogs heading to the FIVB Men's World Championship Round of 16.
Belgium topped Pool F of the 2025 FIVB Men's World Championship. They toppled defending champions Italy. They have swept Ukraine and Algeria.
But if you ask top scorer Ferre Reggers, Belgium is an underdog heading to the Round of 16.
"We have nothing to lose, nobody expects us to win. So this can only be a good thing and we'll just keep on fighting like we did until now," he told reporters after the match.
World No. 15 Belgium picked up the straight-set win against the world No. 92 Algeria, 25-22, 25-20, 25-12.
Reggers top-scored with 19 points from 15 attacks, two blocks, and an ace. Captain Sam Deroo added 15 attack points.
And yet, they see whatever they achieve in the knockout round as something additional.
"We've tried to win it all, but it's still a long way and it's a tough one. But yeah, we're really eager for every game," Reggers said. "Everything we win from now on is a bonus."
They're still going to give everything they got, though.
"It's really high," Reggers said of their confidence. "Not in an arrogant way, not in a cocky way, but in a way that we believe in ourselves and believe that we can beat even the best teams in the world, like Italy."
They await the winner of the Argentina-France match to determine the opponent in the knockout round.
(With reports from Aivan Episcope/One Sports Digital)
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.