FIVB U19 World Championship: Iran routs Colombia to march into knockouts
Iran eased into the last-16 round of the FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship in San Juan, Argentina, thanks to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-16) victory over Colombia in Pool C.
This was a third consecutive victory for Iran at the competition – following wins against South Korea and Puerto Rico – as Mohammad Vakili’s boys are yet to concede a set in San Juan.
Iran had already been handed a victory over Nigeria in the final match of the group fixtures after the African side withdrew from the event and a perfect run in the pool will see the Asian champion take on Mexico in the knockout phase on Tuesday.
Outside-hitter Morteza Narimani contributed with a game-high 17 points – including four aces – for Iran, with Abolfazl Mahdian chipping in 15 points.
Juan Felipe Velasco topped the scoring chart for the Colombians with 11 points.
“Our performance was superb in major spells of the contest. We were brilliant in serving significantly in the first set. The game was so close in the second set, but a change of tactics and players in the third led us to the victory,” Vakili said after the match.
“We also had 13 successful blocks, which is an impressive figure for a team of this age group,” added the Iranian, whose team is chasing a third world under-19 title – and a first since 2017 – in San Juan.
Later on Saturday, Poland – runner-up in Tehran two years ago – defeated Japan in four sets (34-32, 26-24, 22-25, 25-21) in Pool B, while Brazil powered past Chile in straight sets (25-11, 25-17, 25-21).
USA beat the host 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-20) to maintain a perfect record in Pool A and Italy came out victorious against Belgium 3-1 (25-16, 25-15, 25-23, 26-14) in Pool D.