WorldCup: Egypt shock Iran! USA beat Italy in derby, Kurek makes debut for Poland

Egypt made a great upset by beating Iran on Day 2 of the 2019 FIVB World Volleyball Cup in Japan! They have a perfect record after two rounds of World Cup. After winning their opening match against Australia in four sets, Egypt repeated the same result against Iran, in Nagano. Despite losing the first set, they managed to turn the course of the match into their favor beating the reigning Asian champions, who came to the event in Japan with the strongest possible team (except Seyed Mousavi, injured), partially 22:25, 26:24, 25:18 and 26:24. This victory puts the African team just behind Brazil and Poland in the standings as they all have a maximum of 6 points. Egypt’s Ahmed Abdelhay “Salah” was the top scorer of the match with 21 points, including 4 aces while Porya Yali scored 22 points for Iran.

After losing the opening match against the hosts Japan, Italy suffered another defeat in Fukuoka: 3-1 (19:25, 25:19, 25:14, 25:19). The defending champions USA out-served the rivals, who came to the tournament with a modified roster compared to the one that took part in the FIVB International Olympic Qualifier and the 2019 CEV European Championship, by a 13-3. Matthew Anderson and Aaron Russell scored 16 points and 4 aces each for the USA, while Gabriele Nelli scored 14 points and Simone Anzani made 5 winning blocks for Italy.

At this moment, Brazil and Poland are at the top of the standings with 2-0 and 6 points but Brazil are first because they did not lose a single set. Today they swept Australia in straight sets (25:15, 25:20, 25:17). Bruno Rezende left the court in the first set with blood on his face after colliding with libero Thales Hoss. The captain of Brazil got a cut below his right eye but returned in the second set with a bandage in place. Alan Souza, who is replacing absent Wallace Souza in the opposite position, scored 13 points (including 4 aces) for Brazil while Lincoln Williams also scored 13 points on the other side.

The world champions Poland defeated the hosta Japan in four sets in the match that was marked with the return of Bartosz Kurek on the court after a back injury. He appeared in the line-up, making a national team debut this season, and he was top-scorer for his team with 15 points (including 4 winning blocks) although he did it through only 32% attack success rate (8/25). Yuji Nishida scored 16 points for Japan.
Russia have make a comeback against Canada in Nagano, from 0-2 to 3-2, while Argentina defeated Tunisia in four sets.

• 2019 FIVB World Volleyball Cup – Day 2:
Egypt – Iran 3-1 (22:25, 26:24, 25:18, 26:24)
Tunisia – Argentina 1-3 (19:25, 18:25, 25:23, 14:25)
Canada – Russia 2-3 (25:23, 25:16, 17:25, 23:25, 10:15)
Italy – USA 1-3 (25:19, 19:25, 14:25, 19:25)
Australia – Brazil 0-3 (15:25, 20:25, 17:25)
Poland – Japan 3-1 (25:23, 25:17, 19:25, 25:17)

• 2019 FIVB World Volleyball Cup – Day 1

Source and photos: worldcup.2019.fivb.com