Volleyball Nations League:
Glimpse of the future as Iran faces Brazil in eagerly-awaited opener
Iranian fans will get a glimpse of what a new era for their men’s national team might be like when the Asian heavyweight takes on global powerhouse Brazil in their Volleyball Nations League opener tonight in Rio de Janeiro.
The game at the predictably packed Maracanãzinho venue will mark Iran’s first competitive match in 12 months, with a new head coach in Italian Roberto Piazza at the helm.
Having signed a two-year contract – with the option of extension for another two years – with the Iranian Volleyball Federation in January, the Italian will be looking to put a lid on a dire run of results over the past couple of years for Iranian volleyball – including two dreadful Nations League campaigns, and failure to qualify for the Paris Olympics – with his ultimate goal being a spot at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Opposite-spiker Amin Esmaeilnejad, who had a prolific season with Skra Belchatow in the Polish PlusLiga, will be the man to watch in the rejuvenated Iranian squad, while setter and team captain Javad Karimi is also expected to play an essential role, though his starting could be under threat by 21-year-old Arshia Behnejad, who has been impressive in training under the Italian coach.
Pouria Hosseinkhanzadeh and Morteza Sharifi will likely be Piazza’s favorite duo for the outside-hitter position, while middle blockers Issa Naseri and Mohammad Valizadeh played the best part of the two friendly games against Italy before leaving for Brazil.
Mohammadreza Hazratpour and Arman Salehi are the two experienced liberos in Iran’s squad, with both having equal chances to start tonight’s game.
The match will be the 23rd meeting between the two teams – seventh in VNL history – with Iranian managing only three wins against the South American giant in the previous encounters – all coming at the 2014 FIVB World League.
Iran and Brazil last met at the preliminary phase of the VNL 2024, with the latter coming out victorious in four sets in Fukuoka, Japan.
Tonight’s game will be followed by another formidable test for Piazza’s men on Thursday.
Iran will also play Slovenia – VNL semifinalist last year – and Ukraine before leaving for Belgrade for the second week of action in the preliminary round – starting with a game against Serbia on June 25.
Piazza’s side will then face Argentina and Germany before the Italian reunites with his former team, the Netherlands, in the Serbian capital on June 29.
The third and the final week of the preliminaries in Gdańsk, Poland, will see Iran square off against European powerhouses Poland (July 16) and France (July 19), who met in the Olympic final last year, either side of an all-Asian battle against China.
Iran will hope to be in contention for a place in the VNL Finals when going head-to-head with Bulgaria in their final Week 3 game on July 20.
The top eight teams of the preliminary-round table will progress to the VNL Finals – starting with the quarterfinals on July 30 in the Chinese city of Ningbo.