Iran, France volleyball friendly match ends in 2-2 draw

Iran and France volleyball teams played in a friendly match on Sunday. The match ended 2-2 after the head coaches of the two teams decided to do so.

The friendly match was held in preparation for the first week of the upcoming 2023 Volleyball Nations League (VNL).

Speaking to reporters, Behrouz Ataei, Iranian team coach, said at the end of the friendly that “It was a very good game. Considering that we are very close to the Nations League competition, it was necessary to play our last match with good quality. France played very well and both teams tried to implement what they had done in training on the field.”

France managed to win the first two sets while Iran could end the third and forth sets in their favor..

Iran had a good start in the first set but the French team had a good comeback and finished the first two sets with the same result of 25-23 in their favor. In the third set, Behrouz Ataei’s team achieved the necessary coordination and advanced the game to win 25-21 in their iwn favor.

In the fourth set, Iran’s men’s volleyball team dominated Andrea Giani’s players with the good performances of Seyed Mohammad Mousavi and Amir Esfandiar and ultimately won the equalizing set 25-22.

On June 6, Iran is slated to face Japan at the first match of its campaign.

Presently, Iran stands at 10th on the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Ranking.

The Preliminary Phase campaign starts on June 6 and includes matches in Nagoya (Japan), Rotterdam (the Netherlands), and Anaheim (USA).

Iran will be able to travel to Gdansk, Poland for the event from July 19-23 provided that the team qualifies for the VNL Finals.

KI/5802036