Iran win 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship in Bahrain

Porya Yali and captain Amirhossein Esfandiar were key figures in leading their side to a 3-2 triumph (17-25, 25-17, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12) against a valiant Italian side.

Yali and Esfandiar both hit the 20-point mark, combining for 55 of Iran’s 104 points to stage a comeback in the fifth set to win the gold medal. Yali in particular had a prolific night of scoring by recording 18 attacks, three blocks and two aces, while Esfandiar contributed 17 attacks, a block and four service winners. Morteza Sharifi added 18 markers.

The Italians also had double-digit performances from Daniele Lavia (19), Kristian Gamba (18), Francesco Recine (14) and Leandro Ausibio Mosca (10), but Iran’s great service game (10 aces) proved decisive in the crucial moments of the match.

The Italians opened with a stunning 25-17 victory, but the Iranians responded with the same set score to win the second set and level the match at 1-1. Italy recovered from the setback in the previous set and played a tactical game in the third frame. However, the Iranians had a late run that tied the game at 23-all, then shifted the momentum to their side as Esfandiar’s ace gave Iran the lead and an easy attack gave them a 2-1 set advantage at 25-23.

Italy fought back and led by as much as five late in the fourth set, but their rivals rallied hard to cut down the lead to within two points. They soon found a solution and managed to keep the lead and win at 25-22, forcing the tie-breaker.

A series of deadlocks and lead changes ensued as both sides utilised their power to score. Two errors from the Italians from the service and attack lines gave Iran a two-point cushion. Sharifi kept Iran in the lead but some ball handling errors by his teammates also put them in trouble and suddenly the match was again deadlocked at 10-all.

As Sharifi stepped up to the service line, the Italian defence crumbled and their poor reception gave away points that gave the Iranians the advantage. Finally Sharifi missed on his serve, but the Iranian attackers took charge to conclude the match at 15-12.

Brazil bounced back in style from their straight-set semi-final loss to Iran on Friday to win the bronze medal with a 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 25-12) victory over Russia. The South American squad showed great balance in play with their top scorer Guilherme Voss Messias Dos Santos making a total of 13 points from five attacks, an ace and seven blocks in the match. Voss’ teammates Victor Aleksander Almeida Cardoso and Angellus Costa Da Silva fortified their offence, contributing 11 points apiece, while Maxim Sapozhkov who topped all scorers with 16 points was the lone bright spot on offence for the Russian side.
The win meant Brazil claimed their fifth bronze medal in the Men’s U21 World Championship since finishing third in 1999.

Brazil’s South American rivals Argentina claimed fifth place with a 3-1 victory (23-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-19) against China. There was an all-Asian battle for seventh place which Korea won courtesy of a 3-1 win (25-19, 25-23, 13-25, 25-23) over hosts Bahrain.

The teams in the bottom eight were led by the Czech Republic as they stunned Cuba 3-0 (28-26, 26-24, 25-20) to claim ninth position. Last edition’s champions Poland needed five sets to overcome Canada 3-2 (15-25, 25-23, 28-26, 23-25, 15-12) and claim the 11th position in the tournament.

Egypt were too good for their African rivals Tunisia, beating them 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-14, 25-22) to finish in 13th place, whilst Morocco picked up their first win on the last day of the tournament with a 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 32-34, 19-25, 15-12) triumph over Puerto Rico.
2019 FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship – Manama, Bahrain

Final Standings

1. Iran
2. Italy
3. Brazil
4. Russia
5. Argentina
6. China
7. Korea
8. Bahrain
9. Czech Republic
10. Cuba
11. Poland
12. Canada
13. Egypt
14. Tunisia
15. Morocco
16. Puerto Rico