Manama, Bahrain, July 19, 2019 – Russia prevailed against Iran in an exciting five-set match (21-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 16-14) to lead Pool C in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship.
Russia coach Andrey Nozdrin: “Iran are very strong. They are a fantastic team and they have fantastic opposites and two fantastic receivers. The main target of our game was our blocking of the fast ball. I think we did that and we were able to get a good result today.”
On securing a place in the next round approaching the next match: “We must play with any opponent. Each team is very strong. We must be strong at all times if we want to play in the semifinal and final.”
Russia captain Konstantin Abaev: “It’s a game - you can lose and you can win. And when you lose the first or second set, it is normal. To win the match we must win three sets.
“I think Iran are one of the three or four strongest teams in the tournament. I think we will see them again in the semifinal or final. I hope we will play well enough to reach these stages. It will be really good for us and I hope we play better and better.
“We are going to the next round but still we must play every match and do everything for the win and to get better.”
Iran coach Ataei Nouri Behrouz: “I don’t have good feelings after a loss, which is normal. But it was a very good match. We were very good playing together. It was a close challenge and any team with too much mistakes would lose. In the duration of the match, my players were not focused. But otherwise it was very good and a beautiful game.”
Iran captain Amirhossein Esfandiar: “We anticipated a very hard match because our two teams are very strong. In the U19 World Championship two years ago, we were in the final against Russia. We had too many mistakes and we didn’t want that in this match.
Quick links - Volleyball:
FIVB Volleyball Men's U21 World Championship Bahrain 2019
FIVB.com - Volleyball
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