Lausanne, Switzerland, May 31, 2019 - The 2019 men's FIVB Volleyball Nations League begins on Friday with sixteen teams taking to the courts in Jiangmen, China (Pool 1), Mendoza, Argentina (Pool 2), Katowice, Poland (Pool 3) and Novi Sad, Serbia (Pool 4). The team-by-team stats below put all the information at your fingertips in the final days ahead of the competition.
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Argentina
· Argentina finished in 14th place in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· Argentina's best result in the Volleyball Nations League/FIVB Volleyball World League was a fourth place in 2011.
· Argentina finished on the podium of a world level major tournament twice: third at the 1982 FIVB Volleyball World Championship and the 1988 Olympic Games.
· Argentina finished either second or third at each of the last 19 South American Championships.
· Cristian Poglajen was Argentina's top scorer at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 163 points.
Australia
· Last year, Australia finished in 13th place in the Volleyball Nations League.
· Australia's best result in a world major level tournament was a fifth place at the 2014 World League.
· Australia reached the second round at the 2018 World Championship, ultimately finishing in 14th place (of 24 teams).
· The last time Australia finished in the top-10 of a world level major competition was in 2015: ninth at the World Cup.
· Jordan Richards was Australia's top scorer at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 118 points.
Brazil
· Brazil finished in fourth place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· Brazil are the reigning Olympic champions in men's volleyball and are leading the FIVB world ranking.
· Brazil (22) are the country to have won most major world level competitions, Russia (including Soviet Union and CIS) follow on 20 titles.
· The Volleyball Nations League is the only of six world level major competitions which Brazil have never won.
· Wallace De Souza finished as the overall top scorer in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 277 points.
Bulgaria
· Bulgaria finished 11th in the inaugural edition of the Volleyball Nations League last year.
· Bulgaria's best result in World League/ Volleyball Nations League is a fourth place (1994, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2013).
· The last time Bulgaria claimed a medal in a world level major tournament was at the 2007 World Cup, finishing third.
· Nikolay Uchikov scored 169 points last year in the Volleyball Nations League to become Bulgaria's top scorer in the competition.
· Svetoslav Gotsev was the best blocker in the preliminary round last year with a total of 36 points of blocks (0.6 average per set).
Canada
· Canada finished seventh in the inaugural edition of the Volleyball Nations League last year, just missing out on the final round.
· Canada's best result in a world level major tournament was a third place in the 2017 World League.
· Canada finished on the podium in each of the last four NORCECA Championships, including winning the title in 2015.
· Five of Canada's eight victories at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League came in straight sets.
· Stephen Timothy Maar scored 165 points last year to become Canada's 2018 Volleyball Nations League top scorer.
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.
· China's best result in a world level major competition was a fourth place at the 1997 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup.
· Jiang Chuan was the overall top scorer in the preliminary round last year in the Volleyball Nations League, scoring 274 points including a league-high 242 spikes.
· In the overall Volleyball Nations League top scorers list, Jiang Chuan was surpassed by only Brazil's Wallace De Souza (277).
France
· France finished as runners-up at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, losing the final against Russia (3-0).
· France have finished in the top-3 in each of the last four editions of the World League/ Volleyball Nations League, winning the competition in 2015 and 2017 (third in 2016).
· Their victories in the World League in 2015 and 2017 are the only two world level major tournament titles for France.
· Only Russia (12) claimed more straight set victories last year in the Volleyball Nations League than France (8).
· Stephen Boyer was France's top scorer at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 257 points.
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.
· Since 1972, Germany have claimed only one podium finish in a world level major tournament: a third place at the 2014 World Championship.
· Germany finished second at the 2017 European Championship, losing in five sets against Russia in the final.
· Simon Hirsch finished as Germany's Volleyball Nations League top scorer in 2018 on 183 points.
Iran
· At the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, Iran finished in 10th place.
· 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.
· 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 finished in eighth place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· The last world level major tournament won by Italy was the 2000 World League.
· The last time Italy finished on the podium of the World League, the predecessor of the Volleyball Nations League, was in 2014 (3rd).
· Coming into the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, Italy are the highest ranked European team on the FIVB World Ranking in third place.
· Ivan Zaytsev was Italy's top scorer at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 172 points.
Japan
· Japan finished in 12th place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· The last time Japan finished on the podium of a world level major tournament was in 2009, when they finished in third place at the Grand Champions Cup.
· Japan's only victory at a world level major tournament came in 1972, when they won the Olympic title in Munich. They are the only Asian team to have won the Olympic title in men's volleyball.
· Japan are the reigning Asian champions in men's volleyball as they won the Asian title in both 2015 and 2017.
· In the preliminary round of the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, Yuji Nishida scored 187 points, fourth-most of all players.
Poland
· Poland finished in fifth place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, alongside Serbia.
· Poland won the Volleyball Nations League/World League once, in 2012. Their only other podium finish in the competition was a third place in 2011.
· Poland are the two-time defending world champions, having won the world title 2014 and 2018.
· Artur Szalpuk was Poland's top scorer at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 126 points.
· Bartosz Kurek was the most valuable player at the 2018 World Championship.
Portugal
· Portugal will make their debut at the Volleyball Nations League. They won the 2018 Challenger Cup to qualify for the tournament, replacing Republic of Korea.
· At the 2017 World League, Portugal finished in 22th place.
· Portugal's best result in the World League was a fifth place finish in 2005.
· That fifth place was Portugal's best result in a world level major competition.
· Alexandre Ferreira was Portugal's top scorer at the 2018 Challenger Cup on 64 points.
Russia
· Russia won the inaugural edition of the Volleyball Nations League last year, beating France in the final in straight sets.
· Russia (including predecessors) have won 20 world level major tournaments, only trailing Brazil (22) for most.
· Russia also are the reigning European champions in men's volleyball. At the 2018 World Championship, they missed out on the medals (6th).
· Egor Kliuka was Russia's top scorer at last year's Volleyball Nations League on 224 points, followed by Dmitriy Muserskiy on 222 points.
· Maxim Mikhaylov was the most valuable player at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
Serbia
· Serbia finished in fifth place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, alongside Poland.
· Serbia have finished in the top-five in each of their last five participations in world level major competitions: second at the 2015 World League, first at the 2016 World League, fifth at the 2017 World League, fifth at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League and fourth at the 2018 World Championship.
· The win at the 2016 World League is one of two victories for Serbia in world level major competitions, alongside the 2000 Olympic Games (as Yugoslavia).
· Serbia won 11 of their 15 Volleyball Nations League matches in the preliminary round in 2018.
· Drazen Luburic was Serbia's top scorer in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 156 points.
USA
· USA finished in third place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, defeating Brazil in the third-place match.
· The last time United States won a world level major tournament was in 2015, when they won the World Cup.
· Next to the World Cup (1985 and 2015), USA have also won the Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 2008), World Championship (1986) and the World League (2008, 2014).
· USA also finished in third place at the 2018 World Championship, defeating Serbia in the bronze-medal match.
· Matthew Anderson (217 points) was top scorer for United States at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League. In the preliminary round, he was both the third-best spiker and third-best server.
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