Iran, 2019 U21 champions, recorded their second victory (3-0 against Morocco) in the second round of FIVB Volleyball U21 Men's World Championship 2021, and will battle in the playoffs for the ninth pace. The Iranians are currently top of the chart in Pool G, Thailand, who disappointed Egypt on Tuesday again, this time around winning by 3-1, will join Iran in progressing in the competition.
Men's U21 World Championship 2021
Iran and Thailand to play in ninth-place playoffs
The two teams record second victories in Pool G
Published 08:38, 28 Sept 2021
Iran were able to repeat their straight-set success from the first round, beating Morocco in three sets again. Iran stormed out in the beginning of the match, and with outstanding performance on the serve (six aces), led by Hossein Amir Toukhteh (three) and Amin Khalili Khajeh (two), opened with no problems. Morocco continued struggling in finishing their attacks, and after two sets of play, recorded only 10 successful actions in this element, giving Iran the chance to take a comfortable 2-0 lead. With no further problems, Iran seized the third set as well.
Statistically, Morocco were not able to record a single block or ace in the match. Amirhossein Sedaghat of Iran finished as the best scorer with 11 points to his name, while Bardia Saadat added 10.
“We are upset because we did not show our game in the beginning. We suffered from some bad luck as well, but now we hope to finish as good as possible. As per today’s match, we had already met them, and we studied them a lot. We knew where their weak spots were, and we pushed on them,” Bardia Saadat, opposite of Iran, told Volleyball World.
None of the teams were giving up in the beginning, but after a cat-and-mouse game, Thailand took the lead. Although Mohamed Eloraby helped his team on the block, too many errors by Egypt helped Thailand take the set. Although in the second set it seemed like the Egyptians were more stable, taking an early lead with improved performance on the block, the Thais seized their opportunities on all their opponents’ errors, and got closer to the victory. Egypt found the strength to fight back for 2-1, but it was not enough and the Thais emerged victorious.
Captain Sutthiphong shined with as many as 28 points to his name, making the successful attacking the key to the success (57 winning spikes by Thailand compared to 53 by Egypt). The Egyptians, on the other hand, recorded 11 blocks.
“We are so happy! We needed this win so badly! We showed great emotion and determination, and we won! Thank you all for the support," Supakorn Jenthaisong, opposite hiiter of Thailand, told Volleyball World.
