Hosts join defending champs in winning start, while Poland outlast Italy in epic five
Hosts Uzbekistan made a triumphant debut alongside defending champions France, while Poland edged Italy in a five-set thriller and Korea cruised past Cuba on opening day of the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship in Tashkent.
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Playing in front of an energized crowd at Yunnusobod Hall, Uzbekistan trailed, tied and triumphed 25-22 in the opening set of their Boys’ U19 World Championship debut against Türkiye. The hosts turned up the pressure in the second, racing to a 16-4 lead behind a dominant stretch from outside hitter Shokhboz Mamayusufov, who led the offense with strong serving and an assertive attack. Türkiye cut the gap to within five, but Uzbekistan refused to let their home fans down, with Hakimov Bilolbek closing the set with an uncontested spike to make it 2-0.
Mamayusufov remained a constant threat, punishing Türkiye’s defense with timely points in the third. After the visitors pulled level at 7-7, Uzbekistan broke away with a four-point lead at 11-7 and never looked back. Mamayusufov brought the crowd to its feet again, sealing the 3-0 win (25-22, 25-14, 25-20) with back-to-back service winners to complete a historic debut.
Over at the Sport University Center, France overcame an early scare to defeat Canada 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20). Andrej Jokanovic led the defending champions with 17 points, including two blocks, while Ino Dukic and Noa Duflos Rossi added 13 and 11 points, respectively, to begin their title defense on solid footing.
In the day’s most dramatic match, Poland outlasted Italy 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 14-25, 20-18) in a high-level European showdown. Manuel Zlatanov delivered 25 points for Italy, but Poland’s Oskar Trawka and Wojciech Olejniczak came through in the clutch, combining for 25 points to seal the win.
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Earlier in Pool A, Pakistan powered past Belgium 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-22), with middle blocker Muhammad Saud scoring 13 points, including four blocks. Muhammad Yahya added 11 points, while Jabran Jabran contributed five blocks as Pakistan totaled 11 stuffs at the net.
Argentina followed with a straight-sets win over Puerto Rico (25-19, 25-21, 25-23), as Federico Debonis and Mauro Gay combined for 32 points. Puerto Rico’s captain Jean Paul Gonzalez was their lone double-digit scorer with 13.
In other Pool B action, Bulgaria swept Algeria 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-19) behind a 14-point effort from captain Zhasmin Velichkov. Deyan Marinov and Nikola Konstantinov added 10 points apiece as the Bulgarian offense proved too steady.
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China took the all-Asian clash against Japan 3-0 (27-25, 28-26, 25-15), overcoming a 17-point performance by Karen Masajedi with a balanced attack from Yu Xiang, Ding Haocheng and Hu Hanlin.
Spain pulled off a five-set upset in Pool C, taking down 2023 silver medalists Iran 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-12), thanks to 39 points from Cesar Irache, including 34 kills, one block and four aces.
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Egypt also opened with a win, beating Tunisia 3-0 (25-18, 30-28, 28-26), led by captain Ahmed Elbihiry’s 16 points and a strong two-way performance from Ahmed Hamza.
In Pool D, Finland rallied from a set down to defeat the United States 3-1 (17-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-20), powered by a 17-point performance from Kaapo Vanhatupa. Viktor Viljamaa and Kasper Vesanen added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Finland’s defense made the difference, edging the Americans 11-6 in blocks. For the U.S., Grant Lamoureux and Elan Taylor each scored 13 points, while Payne Roman added 12.
Brazil opened its campaign with a commanding 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-15) win over Colombia. Diogo dos Anjos led the way with 18 points, including 10 attacks, six blocks and two aces. Ítalo Manoel Machado and Lucas Righi contributed 10 points apiece. Brazil dominated all scoring fronts, finishing with 42 attacks to Colombia’s 26, 13 blocks to 2, and four service aces to three.
In the final match of the day, 2023 bronze medalists Korea swept Cuba 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20), behind 18 points from Lee Junho and 16 from Bang Kangho. Korea held the edge in attacks 47-41, blocks 7-4; and aces 3-1. Yosdani Medina paced Cuba with 16 points.
2025 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship: full schedule
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