FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League:
Piazza names Iran’s 16-man roster for Week 1
Italian head coach Roberto Piazza has confirmed Iran’s 16-man squad for the opening week of the preliminary round of the upcoming Volleyball Nations League (VNL).
Aiming to secure its first VNL Finals berth in four years, Iran will kick off its campaign with a daunting test against Brazil in Brasilia on June 10 – a rematch of last year’s preliminary-round opener, which the South American powerhouse won in straight sets on home soil.
Iran is set to face Brazil in a friendly double-header on June 2 and 4 as part of its week-long preparation at the Brazilian national team’s training camp in Socorro.
Star opposite Amin Esmaeilnejad will be a surprise absentee in the Brazilian capital, as he is among the four Iranians – alongside outside hitters Ehsan Daneshdoust, Esmaeil Mosafer, and Abdolreza Abdolhamidi – omitted by Piazza for Week 1.
Bardia Sa’adat was also ruled out after suffering a finger injury in the buildup to the AVC Men’s Champions League earlier this month, with Foolad Sirjan’s Ali Hajipour expected to be Piazza’s first-choice opposite in the starting lineup.
Tricky tests will come thick and fast in the Brazilian capital for Piazza’s men, who will take on Bulgaria – a World Championship finalist last September – on June 11 before facing Argentina and Belgium later in the week at the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium.
Iran also faced Argentina and Bulgaria in last year’s edition, defeating the former 3-1 before concluding the preliminary phase with a straight-set victory over the European side.
Iran will then travel to Orléans, France, for the second week of action, beginning with a mammoth clash against host and reigning Olympic champion France at the CO’Met Arena on June 24, followed by matches against the United States, Japan, and Cuba.
The third and final week of the preliminaries will see Iran face Ukraine in Belgrade on July 15, with further matches against Germany, Slovenia, and Türkiye.
The top eight teams in the 18-team standings will advance to the VNL Finals, which will begin with the quarterfinals in Ningbo Beilun, China, on July 29. China is already guaranteed a place in the Finals as host nation.
Iran enjoyed a respectable run in the 2025 preliminaries in Piazza’s first year in charge. Having finished among the bottom three teams in the previous two editions, Iran staged a late surge to finish eighth with six wins from 12 matches. However, it ultimately missed out on the Finals after host China was granted a place in the last eight despite finishing second from bottom.
The following is Iran’s 16-man squad:
Setters: Arshia Behnejad, Emran Kookjeili
Opposite spikers: Ali Hajipour, Amirmohammad Golzadeh, Pouya Aryakhah
Outside hitters: Morteza Sharifi, Pouria Hosseinkhanzadeh, Mobin Nasri, Ali Haqparast, Amirhossein Esfandiar
Middle blockers: Yousef Kazemi, Seyyed Issa Nasseri, Mohammad Valizadeh, Armin Qelichniazi
Liberos: Mohammadreza Hazratpour, Hossein Hajikalateh