FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship:
Iran remains in contention for knockout spot after comeback win against Tunisia
Iran came from behind to beat Tunisia 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-16) in Pool A and celebrate its first victory at 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship in the Philippines.
Iranian outside-hitter Pouria Hosseinkhanzadeh chipped in a game-high 21 points, with three teammates, Morteza Sharifi (18pts), Ali Hajipour (14) and Mohammad Valizadeh (12) also finishing in double figures, as Iran bounced back from a shock 3-1 defeat against Egypt on Sunday.
Outside-hitter Oussama Ben Romdhane and opposite-spiker Ali Bongui were the joint-top scorers for Tunisia – which had beaten the host country in straight sets in the tournament’s curtain riser – with 14 points, while middle-blocker Ahmed Kadhi scored 10.
Outside-hitter and captain Sharifi, who had a quiet day against Egypt with eight points, delivered five of the team’s 10 aces in the match. In comparison, Tunisia scored only two. The Asian side also outdid its opponent in attack by 55-46 in spike kills.
Sharifi also showed high quality in offense, swinging at a 56% success rate, and on the block, with three stuffs to his name. Another three aces came from the serves of his cross-court teammate, Hosseinkhanzadeh. Hajipour also put up three kill blocks, one of them for the match winner in set four.
“First, I would like to thank all the guys who helped me to show a good level. Second, I want to thank the Iranian fans, who support us and gave us a good feeling to have more power on the court,” Sharifi told VBTV.
Tunisia managed to match Iran in blocking with nine stuffs and did slightly better in avoiding unforced errors – 24 against 27.
Tunisia and Iran occupy second and third place, respectively, in the group on a 1-1 win-loss record and three points each, with the African side edging ahead on set ratios.
However, Iran will still hope to progress to the round of 16 as one of the top two in the pool standings with a likely victory over the Philippines on Thursday.