Already qualified for the top tier of the 2021 FIVB Men's U21 World Championship, Belgium and Argentina got the ball rolling, entering a direct clash for the first place in Pool C. Belgium proved better, while in the next fixture of the day, Iran showed no mercy to Morocco, beating them in three sets.
Men's U21 World Championship 2021
Belgium top chart in Pool C
Iran show no mercy to Morocco
Published 07:49, 25 Sept 2021
Both Argentina and Belgium were nervous in the beginning of the match, recording too many unforced errors. However, the Belgian players took control over the set, and thanks to sharp attacks by Ferre Reggers (eight points) and Liam Mc Cluskey’s good contribution, took the lead. Inspired, Belgium were unstoppable, leaving no doubts over who was better in the next set. Lenner Van Helsen recorded some important points, while for Argentina Valentino Vidoni tried his best (seven points) but the South Americans could not catch up with their opponents’ rhythm. A wake-up call for Argentina marked the next set. Manuel Armoa found his game after a difficult start in the match, and helped his team bring back the intrigue in the match. However, the dreams of the South Americans of winning this match were crushed after a great battle in the next set. Belgium’s libero Martin Perin became the man of the hour, delivering some great saves, helping his team to emerge victorious.
Overall, the two teams showed equal level in attacking (49 points each), but the better performance in blocking (11 stuffs to five), and acing eight times sealed the deal for Belgium’s team. Ferre Reggers was once again above all, with 23 points to his name.
“It was a good game for us. We pushed on the serve. We started with our good serving performance yesterday, but today was even better. I believe that we were able to maintain our level in these three matches, but we will continue to push in the next matches that will be more difficult. I am proud of my team! We are very happy to finish first in the pool," Martin Perin, libero of Belgium, told Volleyball World.
Iran showed no mercy in the first set, while their captain and middle blocker Toukhteh Amir Hossein became the man of the hour, delivering an amazing performance, recording eight points and 100% in reception.
Iran’s head coach Nouri Ataei Behrouz started with some substitute players in the next sets and Morocco seized the opportunity to fight hard, delivering some good attacks and blocks. However, with 81% positive reception, Iran emerged victorious.
“Our last match from yesterday against Argentina was a difficult one for us. Before that, we had also lost to Belgium... Maybe if we had started against Morocco, we would have won our pool matches, who knows? We look ahead, and we will fight for the best position possible," Asil Amir HosseinTaghavi, setter of Iran, told Volleyball World.
