Volleyball Nations League:
Esmaeilnejad among four Iranians omitted for Week 1
Amin Esmaeilnejad is among four players omitted from Iran’s squad by head coach Roberto Piazza for Week 1 of the upcoming FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League.
Outside hitters Ehsan Daneshdoust, Esmaeil Mosafer, and Abdolreza Abdolhamidi will also miss the trip to Brasília, where Iran opens its campaign with a daunting matchup against volleyball powerhouse Brazil on June 10.
Esmaeilnejad’s omission comes as a surprise. The prolific 29-year-old was Piazza’s first choice for the opposite role in last year’s VNL campaign before an ankle injury on the eve of September’s World Championship ruled him out of the tournament in the Philippines.
He was Iran’s top scorer, logging 158 points in 10 matches, as the Asian powerhouse finished eighth in the 18-team preliminary table with six wins in 12 games. However, Iran ultimately missed out on the VNL Finals; China, despite finishing second from last, secured a quarterfinal spot as the host nation.
The Iranian Volleyball Federation confirmed that all four players remain in contention for selection during the remaining two weeks of the preliminary phase.
With Esmaeilnejad sidelined, Foolad Sirjan’s Ali Hajipour – who joins the national team’s training camp today after a silver-medal campaign at the AVC Men’s Champions League – and Bardia Sa’adat are expected to lead the race for a starting spot.
Hajipour emerged as Piazza’s top choice during the world event, where Iran reached the quarterfinals before being knocked out by Czechia.
Tricky tests will come thick and fast in Week 1 for Piazza’s men. They will face Bulgaria – a World Championship finalist – on June 11, before taking on Argentina and Belgium later in the week at the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium.
Iran will then travel to Orléans, France, for Week 2, starting with a mammoth task against the host and reigning Olympic champion France at the CO’Met Arena on June 24. That match will be followed by games against the United States (June 25), Japan (June 26), and Cuba (June 28).
The third and final week of the preliminaries will see Iran face Ukraine in Belgrade on July 15, with further tests against Germany (July 16), Slovenia (July 17), and Türkiye (July 19).
The top eight teams in the standings will advance to the VNL Finals, which begin July 29 in Ningbo Beilun, China. China is again guaranteed a quarterfinal spot as the host.
Iran will aim to build on a promising first year under Piazza by securing its first quarterfinal berth in four years at the prestigious tournament.