VIERSEN - The Swedish tandems, headed by Blomdahl, are the record holders, but have not been on top podium since 2009 after five years of continuous hegemony and nine titles in total. The World three cushion championships for nation teams has other top favorites, having competed for gold in Viersen in the most recent years. The Vietnamese, quickly breaking through on the world stage, grabbed the trophy for the first time last year with Tran and Bao, the Turks dominated for several years, the Belgians won four times in a row and the South Koreans triumphed twice in the last five editions. Which countries are seen now as the big contenders for the global team title this year? Who are the outsiders, which players are showing form and which country will come to the start with the strongest possible tandem?
The title holder sends the pair that won over Spain in a thriller last year. Quyet Chien Tran and Phuong Vinh Bao grabbed the gold in the Scotch double against Spain (Ruben Legazpi/Sergio Jimenez) with the smallest possible margin: 15-14. The run-up to that final was also full of excitement as Vietnam won in the Scotch double against USA and Spain vs Japan by the same extension. That resulted in a surprising podium: the Vietnamese had never won the title for nations before and blasted to their maiden victory, Japan was a four-time winner, Spain and USA had only won silver medals so far.
The Vietnamese powerful strike came at a time when Phuong Vinh Bao had captured the individual world title and players from that country were jockeying for podium places in World Cups. That trend has continued with Quyet Chien Tran, Duc Minh Tran and Thanh Luc Tran as the most appealing exponents. Only Dick Jaspers and Marco Zanetti disrupted the Asians' triumph in World Cups in 2024.
The countries that have to ensure European success at the World championship have a selection system that does not always send the strongest tandem. The Belgians come with Peter Ceulemans and Roland Forthomme and leave Eddy Merckx at home. The Turks come to Viersen without Tayfun Tasdemir, for other reasons Sweden had to replace Michael Nilsson for Nalle Olsson, but most of the other title contenders have a great line-up.
So, the Vietnamese with Tran and Bao, the Koreans with Myung Woo Cho and Jung Han Heo, the Germans with Horn and Lindemann, the Dutch with Dick Jaspers and Jean Paul de Bruijn and the Spaniards with Legazpi and Jimenez.
Can the Japanese again pull off a stunt this year with good-old Ryuuji Umeda and Takao Miyashita? What can USA do with Piedrabuena and Patiño and France with Jérémy Bury and Mikaël Devogelaere? These are shots across the bow, as in Viersen's amazing Festhalle, just surviving the preliminary rounds will be an effort of strength.
The look forward to the four groups of four countries, the top two of which go to the matches with the best eight:
Group A:
The Turks, winners the last three times with Cenet/Coklu, Tasdemir/Cenet and Sayginer/Tasdemir, have Berkay Karakurt as a relative routine player this time and Ufuk Kapusiz as a debutant. That certainly makes the team more vulnerable than in previous years with Tasdemir leading the way. The Germans pose the biggest threat with the regular Horn/Lindemann tandem and Colombia is not to be underestimated with Huberney Cataño and Pedro Gonzalez. The fourth team, Portugal, plays with routine Rui Costa and young Jose Miguel Soares.
Group B:
The most global foursome, of which South Korea is considered the top favorite with Myung Woo Cho, the world champion, paired with Jung Han Heo. The Koreans start against Mexico with Vera and Hernandez. The Japanese (Umeda/Myashita) have the wonderful memory of the podium last year and are dangerous outsiders to France, which could field its best two players at the moment: Jérémy Bury and Mikaël Devogelaere.
Group C:
Three former winners of this World championship meet in the pool of death, at least one of whom must perish on their way to the quarter-finals. Vietnam are top favorites, the Belgians (Ceulemans/Forthomme) have shown top form in the last World Cup and the Swedes are glorious tournament winners, although Blomdahl is not playing with Michael Nilsson this year. The second man has been replaced by Nalle Olsson. Jordan could be the surprising team with an outlier.
Group D:
The Dutch and Spaniards should be able to go through at the expense of Egypt and USA, but Sameh Sidhom in particular for Egypt and the bundled strength of the American routines offer no guarantee. Once in history, the Netherlands played their way onto the stage with the line-up Dick Jaspers and Jean Paul de Bruijn, two contemporaries. That was in 2005 when Blomdahl and Nilsson won and the Netherlands took silver. Spain will come with Legazpi and Jimenez, last year's silver winner, for the second time in Spanish history.
The World championship in Viersen will be played from Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 March 2025. The Festhalle is the venue in the city that has hosted this competition for 35 years. The World championship has been around for 44 years.
The Vietnamese titleholder on their way to Viersen with the coach
The line-ups of the country teams:
Vietnam: Quyet Chien Tran, Phuong Vinh Bao
Germany: Martin Horn, Ronny Lindemann
Netherlands: Dick Jaspers, Jean Paul de Bruijn
Spain: Ruben Legazpi, Sergei Jimenez
Sweden: Torbjörn Blomdahl, Nalle Olsson
Portugal: Rui Manuel Costa, Jose Miguel Soares
France: Jérémy Bury, Mikaël Devogelaere
Turkey: Berkay Karakurt, Ufuk Kapusiz
Belgium: Peter Ceulemans, Roland Forthomme
Colombia: Huberney Cataño, Pedro Gonzalez
Mexico: Javier Vera, Christian Hernandez
USA: Pedro Piedrabuena, Hugo Patiño
South Korea: Myung Woo Cho, Jung Han Heo
Japan: Ryuuji Umeda, Takao Miyashita
Egypt: Sameh Sidhom, Samer Kamal
Jordan: Mashhour Abu Tayeh, Ahmed Al Ghababsheh.
The four groups of four countries:
Group A: Turkey, Germany, Colombia, Portugal
Group B: South Korea, Japan, France, Mexico
Group C: Vietnam, Belgium, Sweden, Jordan
Group D: Netherlands, Spain, Egypt, USA.
Thursday: Sessions at 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 8pm.
Friday: Sessions at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 8 p.m.
Saturday: Sessions at 11am and 1pm (end of qualifying rounds), then quarter-finals at 5pm and 8pm
Sunday: Semi-finals at 11am and 1pm, finals at 4pm
All matches to be seen live on Soop.
First games:
Thursday 12.00: Netherlands-USA
12.00: Spain-Egypt
14.00 Vietnam-Jordan
14.00: Belgium-Sweden
16.00: Korea-Mexico
16.00: France-Japan
18.00: Portugal-Turkey
18.00: Germany-Colombia