At the start of the new millennium, Brazil had been the dominant force in men’s beach volleyball. In the early days of the sport, the Soviet Union had enjoyed more success but, since the break up of that union, the South Americans came to the fore.
At that time, it wasn’t essential to have glorious beaches to hand, but it may have helped Brazil reach the top. Recent results have, however, underlined a shift in the game.
Europe to the Fore
At the 2022 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Poland and Slovenia, Italy claimed their fourth title and their first since 1998. The Italians eased out the Poles by 3-1 in the final while Brazil had to settle for third place.
It was the first time since that 1998 final that the Brazilians had failed to reach the last two. The South Americans had enjoyed a run of three straight wins in 2002, 2006 and 2010 before losing the finals to Poland in 2014 and 2018.
While Brazil will continue to be competitive, those results hint at a clear shift in power at the top of men’s beach volleyball. Will that pattern be continued in the future or can Brazil bounce back?
Projecting Forward
The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris may be two years away but it’s never too early to look ahead. Based on previous results at the Games and in World Championships, it may be possible to identify our next beach volleyball Olympic winner.
Betting markets provide a useful independent viewpoint and these will be released ahead of the competition. It’s early days but, in all probability, the best betting sites around the world will find it tough to separate Italy, Poland and Brazil.
One of the best sites to monitor odds is ArabianBetting.com where a wide range of markets are in place for all sports. As the 2024 Paris Olympics draw closer, those odds will fill up and a full range of options will appear on the website.
As readers digest that information, there will be breaking news and opinion articles to consider. Useful betting guides and bookmaker reviews will also be published. Anyone who wants to put their new-found information to the test may wish to sign up with any recommended sportsbook.
Each operator linked to ArabianBetting is able to accept new customers, subject to eligibility requirements and a completed sign up form. Once that process has been taken care of, it’s possible to find generous welcome offers in most places.
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In most cases, there will be ongoing promotions while the majority of sportsbooks have in-play markets and mobile betting.
To summarize, it’s the perfect betting partner for beach volleyball, but are Italy the men’s team to watch moving forward?
Olympic Pointers
We’ve seen that Italy are currently the World Champions in men’s beach volleyball, but how have their results compared at the summer Olympics? At the most recent tournament in Tokyo, the gold medal went to Denmark with the Russian Federation settling for silver.
In general, the results from the summer Olympics tend to go against the trends set at the World Championships. Italy have yet to win the gold medal while Brazil have just two golds from 2004 and 2016.
Of the remaining four gold medals issued in the men’s section, the USA have won three while Germany have a solitary success from London in 2012.
Can Italy Continue to Dominate?
As we’ve just seen, results at the World Championships do not necessarily get carried over into the Olympic Games. The most notable discrepancy is that Italy’s men’s beach volleyball team have yet to win Olympic gold despite claiming four world titles.
Brazil have also enjoyed more success on the world stage, although the South Americans have won the Olympics on two separate occasions. It all points to an unpredictable tournament in Paris in two years’ time, but the fact that the Games should be wide open will doubtless lead to a thrilling men’s beach volleyball section.
