Jiangmen, China, May 27, 2019 - Iran and Italy get play started in 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League Pool 1 on Friday, with pool hosts China and Germany completing the action later in the day. Get the head-to-head stats below.
Iran - Italy (May 31, 2019)
Head-to-Head
· Italy have won five of their last six encounters with Iran at world level major competitions. The only exception in this run was a 3-2 defeat at the 2017 Grand Champions Cup.
· World level major competitions are: Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World League, Nations League and Grand Champions Cup.
· Each of those aforementioned five defeats came by a 3-0 scoreline, including their Volleyball Nations League encounter last year on 2 June 2018.
· Italy also beat Iran 3-0 in the quarter-finals of the 2016 Olympic Games. Italy went on to finish as runners-up.
Iran
· Iran (8th) are the highest ranked Asian team on the FIVB World Ranking coming into the 2019 Volleyball Nations League. Japan follow in 11th place.
· At the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, Iran finished in 10th place, failing to reach the final round.
· Iran won their last three matches at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League (versus Republic of Korea, Bulgaria and Germany). It was the only time Iran won at least two matches in a row in the tournament.
· Iran started their 2018 Volleyball Nations League campaign with a 3-1 defeat against France.
· Iran's only podium finish at a world level major competition was a third place at the 2017 Grand Champions Cup.
· In September 2018, Iran won the men's volleyball title at the Asian Games. They did not lose a single set in their five matches in the tournament.
· Milad Ebadipour Ghara H. finished as Iran's top scorer at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 193 points.
Italy
· Italy failed to reach the podium in each of their two world level major competitions in 2018: an eighth place at the Volleyball Nations League and a fifth place at the world championship.
· From 2012 to 2017 Italy had finished on the podium of at least one world level major competition every year.
· The last world level major tournament won by Italy was the 2000 World League.
· Coming into the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, Italy are the highest ranked European team on the FIVB World Ranking in third place.
· Italy started their 2018 Volleyball Nations League campaign with three wins, including a 3-1 victory in their opener against Germany.
· Ivan Zaytsev was Italy's top scorer at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 172 points.
China - Germany (May 31, 2019)
Head-to-Head
· China and Germany (including West and East Germany) have met five times in a world level major tournament. China won the first three matches, Germany the most recent two.
· World level major tournaments are Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World League and Grand Champions Cup.
· Last year, these teams met in the preliminary round of the Volleyball Nations League, with Germany winning 3-1. It marked the first time both teams claimed at least one set in an encounter with each other.
China
· China finished 15th in the inaugural edition of the Volleyball Nations League last year.
· China's best result in the World League/Volleyball Nations League came in 1996, when they finished sixth.
· Last year, China started their VNL campaign against Bulgaria, losing the match 3-2.
· China have lost 13 of their last 14 world level major tournament matches (Volleyball Nations League, World Championship), including each of the last seven. Their only win in this span was 3-1 against Japan in the VNL last year.
· The last time China suffered a longer losing streak in world level major tournament matches was in 2010-2011 (16 matches).
· Chuan Jiang was the overall top scorer in the preliminary round in the Volleyball Nations League last year, scoring 274 points including a season-best 242 spikes.
Germany
· Germany finished ninth in the inaugural edition of the Volleyball Nations League last year.
· Germany's best result in the World League/Volleyball Nations League came in 2012, when they finished fifth.
· Germany recorded seven wins and eight losses last year in the Volleyball Nations League.
· Germany started their 2018 Volleyball Nations League campaign with three losses: 3-1 vs Italy, 3-1 vs Serbia and 3-0 vs Brazil.
· Jan Zimmermann scored 18 aces in the preliminary round last year in the Volleyball Nations League, most of all players in this stage of the competition.
Quick links - Volleyball:
FIVB.com - Volleyball Nations League
FIVB.com - Volleyball
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