Head-to-Head• This is the second time Poland and Italy play against each other at the World Championships. Poland won 3-2 after trailing 2-0 in 2002.
• These teams also met four times at the 2014 World League, which each side winning twice at home.
• Poland defeated Italy 3-1 in the group stage of the 2012 Olympic Games.
Poland• Poland lost their first match of the tournament on Wednesday, 10 September (3-1 against USA).
• The last time they lost two in a row were their last two matches at the 2010 World Championship (3-0 against Brazil and 3-0 against Bulgaria).
• They played three times before at the World Championship on 11 September, losing all three matches by 3-1: In 1949 against Czechoslovakia and in 1956 and 1966 against Soviet Union.
Italy• Italy have lost three in a row at the World Championship and can lose four in a row for the first time in 28 years, when they lost five in a row in 1986.
• That was also the last time they lost back-to-back matches without winning a set at the World Championship.
• They have won three of their last four matches against host nations at the World Championships, only losing against Argentina in 2002 in this span.