Second day of the third round continues with Germany facing Iran in Pool G, while Brazil face nemesis Russia in the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship
Lausanne, Switzerland, September 17, 2014 – A straight-set win by Iran over Germany will earn them another achievement of winning their 50th set, while Russia aim to stop their string of misfortunes against Brazil at the third round of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship on Wednesday.
Iran are on their best ever run at the World Championship with seven victories and are guaranteed a top six finish. They will jump to at least 13 places on the final table from their previous result of 19th in 1998 and 2010.
Germany will play their second match in the round, losing their first match 3-0 against France on September 16. All of Germany’s three losses in the tournament have come in straight sets. Although they remain as the only team in the competition to have not played a tiebreaker set.
Meanwhile, Russia’s 11-match winning streak was stopped by Brazil last Sunday. The last time they lost consecutive World Championship matches was in 2010. Their opponents Brazil, however, have lost their first match in the third round against Poland in a five-set match, stopping their 13-match winning streak.
Iran target 50 set-wins – Iran currently have 47 set victories, a possible 3-0 or 3-1 win would give them their 50th set win at the World Championship. Germanh and Iran will meet for the first time at the World Championship. They previously met twice at the 2014 FIVB Volleyball World League that ended a draw for both teams. These matches were won by a 3-0 scoreline.
Russia’s three-match losing streak against Brazil – Russia have lost their last three matches against Brazil, though the Russians have never lost four consecutive matches against a specific opponent. The only teams that Russia lost three matches in a row was against Czechoslovakia, Poland and Italy. This match will be the 11th World Championship clash between Brazil and Russia. The most recent match-up came on September 14 in the second round, when the Brazilians made a 3-1 victory over Russia.