Twelve national teams will make their debut at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship 2022 on Saturday, the second day of the tournament, and among the squads that will be playing their opening matches in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Katowice, Poland, are Argentina and Iran.
Men's World Championship 2022
Argentina and Iran to rely on returning players at World Championship
Facundo Conte and Saber Kazemi are among the top offensive options for their teams. Watch the match live on Volleyball TV.
Published 07:00, 27 Aug 2022
A well-rested Conte will be an important player for Argentina
The South Americans and Asians will meet in the third match of the day in Ljubljana and the second Pool F duel of the tournament, which will begin at 17.30 local time (15.30 GMT). The other two teams in the pool, the Netherlands and Egypt, will play each other at 14.00 local time (12.00 GMT).
· Watch all FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship 2022 matches live on Volleyball TV.
About to begin their 13th participation in the World Championship, the Argentineans will attempt a return to the podium after 40 years. The South Americans have won a single medal so far, a bronze in 1982, when their country hosted the tournament.
The team coached by Marcelo Mendez will enter the court in Slovenia determined to repeat the success they had last year, when they ended a 33-year wait for an Olympic medal by taking bronze in Tokyo.
The Best Of Facundo Conte 2021 VNL#Tokyo2020 Athlete: #7 FACUNDO CONTE 🇦🇷. #TokyoHereWeGo Story: Facundo is one of the most complete players from Argentina and his experience, which includes 2 Olympic appearances, is vital to the team's success in Tokyo. 🏐 Website: https://bit.ly/3hOMIFH 📱 Download the Volleyball World App: iOS - https://apple.co/3bO9ASk & Android - https://bit.ly/3yvmHl4
Posted by Volleyball World on Monday, July 19, 2021
Star outside hitter Facundo Conte, who was absent for his team’s ninth-place campaign at the 2022 Volleyball Nations League, is back and ready to lead the Argentineans in another major event.
“We enter the tournament in very good condition and extremely motivated,” Conte told Argentinean website Ole. “We had a great physical preparation and everyone is feeling really well. Winning the bronze medal last year in Tokyo gave our players a lot of confidence. More than that, it made us believe that it’s possible to achieve any goals we set for our team. Our chances can be higher or lower, but they are there and we’ll go for it.”
Argentineans and Iranians both took part in the Hubert Wagner Memorial tournament in Poland, and met exactly one week before their World Championship matchup, with the Asians winning 3-2 in a match played without any of the usual starters.
#Wagner2022 Irán se quedó con el partido ante Argentina en el quinto set
— Voleibol Argentino (@Voley_FeVA) August 20, 2022
ARG🇦🇷 2 - IRI🇮🇷 3
21-25 / 25-22 / 25-19/ 22-25/ 13-15
La Selección se trasladará a Eslovenia para debutar en el Mundial el próximo 27/8 pic.twitter.com/dYqzEaPABp
Head coach Behrouz Ataei saw several positives from his team during the tournament, including the return of opposite Saber Kazemi to his best form after he played in just three VNL matches. During the World Championship, he’ll compete for a spot in the starting lineup with VNL revelation Amin Esmaeilnezhad in one of the several positional battles Ataei will have to decide.
“Regardless of the results, this tournament allowed us to make several observations about the team,” the coach commented. “The entire squad grew a lot and I’ll have a hard time determining the starting lineup for the World Championship. Of course there are still a few areas we can improve on, but the team is at a much higher level offensively and defensively now.”
The Best Of Saber Kazemi & Amir Esfandiar2021 Club World Champs Team Spotlight: Sirjan Foolad 🇮🇷 💫 Star Players: Saber Kazemi & Amir Esfandiar. ➡️ All matches of the 2021 #ClubWorldChamps from December 7-11 will be EXCLUSIVELY on VBTV. 📺 Sign up now on www.volleyballworld.tv!
Posted by Volleyball World on Friday, December 3, 2021
This year will mark Iran’s seventh appearance at a World Championship, and their best result to date was a sixth-place finish in 2014.
Besides the Pool F matches on Saturday, Ljubljana will also host a pair of Pool E duels with Türkiye facing China at 11.00 local time (9.00 GMT) and reigning European champions Italy meeting Canada at 21.15 local time (19.15 GMT).
On the same day, Tunisia and Puerto Rico will feature in Pool A’s opening match in Katowice at 17.30 local time (15.30 GMT) and Ukraine and Serbia will duel later, at 20.30 local time (18.30 GMT), in the same pool.
