The stakes are high as the sitting volleyball programme on Day 5 will see the all the men’s teams battle their way to secure a spot in the semifinals of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at Makuhari Messe Hall on Tuesday.

Many exciting matches are lined up, with Rio 2016 bronze medallists Egypt taking on European champions RPC at 10.00 local time. RPC are on top of Pool A as they have won all their matches so far and have not conceded any sets in the process.

The race to the semifinals in Pool A is between Egypt and Bosnia and Herzegovina and will depend on the results of their respective encounters on the final day of the men’s preliminaries. Bosnia and Herzegovina are in a must-win situation against the hosts Japan in the last match of the day at 20.30.

The second match 14.00 is between Brazil and Germany, which promises to be a tough battle as the South Americans will need to win to increase their chance of advancing to the final four.

Meanwhile, the Rio 2016 gold medallists will try to extend their unbeaten run in the third match of the day at 18.30, when they face their Asian rivals China. On Monday, China stunned Germany in a four-set clash, keeping them in the race, but their fate depends on the results of the earlier encounter between Brazil and Germany.