Lausanne, Switzerland, September 6, 2014 – Eleven teams have been confirmed for the second round after a full schedule of matches have been played in host cities Katowice, Wroclaw, Gdansk and Krakow on Saturday.
In pursuit of the perfect match sweep record, defending champions Brazil and hosts Poland were both unsuccessful in their bids as they stained their records with the set-loss. Although these teams remain undefeated in the competition, all teams have at least lost a set.
Iran’s winning leap – Iran have won three matches at a single World Championship edition for the first time since four victories in their debut in 1970. In these three victories, the teams they have beaten belong to the top 15 in the world.
Argentina achieve back-to-back straight set victories – Argentina waited 24 years to get their back-to-back straight-set victories in the World Championship. This feat was achieved in 1990.
Cuban supremacy on the tie-breaker – Cuba have now won 18 of the last 19 five-set matches at the World Championship, only losing to Finland on September 1. Cuba earned two points from the five-setter to put them in third place in Pool B with six points, while Tunisia got the consolation point.
Bulgaria ended run of five-setter defeats – After their five-set match against Egypt, Bulgaria had ended a run of three defeats in matches that needed a fifth set decider. They have never experienced having four defeats in a row when playing a deciding set.
USA’s up-and-down streak in World Championship – United States continue their up-and-down streak at the World Championship (W-L-W-L-W-L-W-L) as France improve their win percentage to 50 per cent in World Championship history.
Serbia’s decent run in matches at the World Championship – Serbia have now won eight of their last 10 matches at the World Champiosnhip. They can make it nine victories if they win against Cameroon on Sunday.
German one win away to match record in 2006 – Germany won three matches in a row for the first time since they won four in 2006.
Canada’s back-to-back straight-set wins – Like Argentina, Canada have taken a long time to earn their back-to-back straight-set victories. It even took the Canadians a longer time than the Argentines to achieve this feat. It was 36 years ago when Canada got back-to-back wins with a 3-0 scoreline.
Poland drops first set – Poland dropped their first set in this edition of the World Championship. Their four-match winning streak is their longest since 11 in 2006.
Brazil gets surprise from Korea, drops two sets – Brazil collected their 97th win at the World Championships, equal to the number of wins URS recorded, before the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Russia create own history – Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia have been making their own record-worthy exploits in the sport. In the World Championship, they have won seven World Championship matches in a row for the first time.
NORCECA team defeat a European team – Puerto Rico defeated a European team for the first time in the World Championship. Puerto Rico have lost their previous 12 encounters, including two losses to Italy.