Lausanne, Switzerland, August 2, 2017 - Defending champions Brazil are with their back against the wall when they face The Netherlands Thursday in Nanjing, after dropping their opening match in the 2017 FIVB World Grand Prix Final Six in straight sets to hosts China. Brazil are in danger of missing out on a World Grand Prix medal for the first time since 2007 - which is when the Dutch won their only title in the competition. That was also the only time The Netherlands beat Brazil in the 13 times they've come head-to-head in the history of the event. Any win would keep Brazil in contention - but cannot yet secure them definitely a ticket to the semifinals.
Head-to-Head• Brazil and Netherlands have met 13 times in the World Grand Prix, with Brazil winning 12 of these encounters.
• The only time Netherlands won against Brazil was in the 2007 final round (3-2). Netherlands went on to secure their only World Grand Prix title.
• In their 2007 World Grand Prix winning campaign, Netherlands first lost to Brazil in the preliminary round (3-0) before taking revenge in the final round (3-2). Earlier this season, Brazil beat Netherlands 3-1 in the group stages.
• Last year, this fixture was played in the World Grand Prix semifinals with Brazil winning in straight sets heading for their 11th title.
Brazil• With a loss, Brazil will finish outside the top-3 for the first time since 2007 (5th). This was the last time they lost against today's opponents Netherlands, who went on to win the tournament that year.
• Brazil can lose consecutive matches for the second time in the 2017 edition. The last time they lost consecutive World Grand Prix matches prior to the 2017 edition was in 2007 (four in a row).
• Brazil lost their last match 3-0 against China. Brazil have not lost back-to-back matches in straight sets since 2002 (against Germany and Russia).
• Brazil can lose five matches in a single World Grand Prix for the first time since 2007 (5).
Netherlands• Netherlands qualified for the final round with six wins and three defeats in the preliminary round.
• Last year, Netherlands won seven matches in the World Grand Prix.
• In the 2016 edition, Netherlands reached the semifinals where they lost 3-0 against Brazil.
• Netherlands won their last World Grand Prix match in five sets. They have won five of their last six five-setters in the competition, including the last two.
• Netherlands have played 31 five-setters in total, winning 25 (81%). No country with multiple five-set matches at the World Grand Prix has a higher winning percentage.