Volleyball Nations League:
Iran taking one last shot at quarterfinal spot against Olympic champion
Iran will make a last-ditch effort to secure a last-eight place when kicking off Week 3 of the Volleyball Nations League against reigning Olympic gold medalist France in Anaheim, California, tonight.
Siting 11th in the 16-team, Behrouz Ataei’s men step into the final week of the preliminary round on the back of only a couple of wins in eight outings and can’t afford further slips in the remaining four matches if they are to progress to the VNL Finals for a second year running.
Iran will also take on Bulgaria and Argentina before concluding its campaign against Cuba at the Anaheim Convention Center next Sunday.
Top seven of the table will join host Poland in the Finals – starting July 19 in Gdansk.
The bad news for the Asian powerhouse is that it will have to do without two key players in the final week after prolific opposite Amin Esmaeilnejad and starting setter Mohammad-Taher Vadi – as well as Arman Salehi – were denied entry visas by the US Embassy in Ankara.
The controversial decision convinced the international governing body of the sport, the FIVB, to announce that Iran’s results in Anaheim will not affect the team’s points in World Men’s Ranking – a decisive factor in the qualification process for next year’s Paris Olympics – regardless of the results in Anaheim.
Defending champion France, meanwhile, has also had a below-par run, managing only three wins – against minnow sides China, Cuba, and Canada – so far, and sits just above Iran in the table.
Japan has stolen the show at this year’s event, firmly topping the table thanks to a remarkable 8-0 record – including impressive victories against volleyball giants France and Brazil.
Having suffered a single defeat against Brazil, USA is second with Brazil, Slovenia, Poland, Argentina, Italy, and the Netherlands following the Americans in the table.