Luciano Vicentín, one of the Argentine rookies in a World Cup, scores against the blockade of Vadi Mohammad Taher and Toukhteh Amir Hossein. (Photo: FIVB)
The Argentine volleyball team will face Iran at the Stožice Arena in Ljubljana in the first match of Group F of the World Cup which will be played in Poland and Slovenia. The first set favored the Argentine team 25-22. They broadcast ESPN 3 and Star +.
With three rookies in this type of tournament in the starting line-up (Joaquín Gallego, Luciano Vicentín and Libero Santiago Danani), nerves were no obstacle for the national team in this first. At the start of the first set, Iran used the serve of central defender Amir Hossein Toukhteh and some doubts in the Argentine reception, but the team led by Marcelo Méndez recovered with a couple of walls from Gallego di Villeguense and good responses in attack by Bruno Lima, Agustín Loser and Vicentín.
In any case, the Iranians, seventh in the FIVB rankings and also seventh in the last edition of the Volleyball Nations League, have relied on the power of point guards, Amir Esfandiar and Milad Ebadipour, to keep the result at hand. In the final segment of the chapter, however, Argentina showed coldness and was able to close it thanks to an effective attack by Facundo Conte, who played with the rival wall, and a network service from the Iranian captain Ebadipour.
In its 12 World Cup appearances, Argentina managed to get on the podium only in the 1982 World Cup, which was played in our country. In this edition the national team shares an area, in addition to Iran, with the Netherlands and Egypt.
Ahead of this World Cup, Méndez’s team played against the Iranians in a friendly tournament in Poland, the Wagner Memorial, and lost 3-2, in that home run, they finished second behind the Poles after beating Serbia. , even though he had defeats against the locals and the Persians.
In the other match of Group F, played in Ljubljana on Saturday, the Netherlands beat Egypt 3-0 in an hour and 18 minutes of play. The captain of the European team, the opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz, was the top scorer of the match with 21 points.
Source: Clarin
