USA, Egypt keep pace with second wins in Pool A at U21 World Championship
China’s home charge gathered pace Friday as the hosts swept Morocco to stay atop Pool A at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship, with USA and Egypt also unbeaten at 2-0. Poland and Iran kept perfect records in Pool B, Czechia and Japan matched them in Pool C, and Italy and France are undefeated in Pool D.
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Hosts China took pole position in Pool A with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-20) victory over Morocco. The home team controlled the tempo from the start, cruising through the opening set 25-13. Morocco fought back in the second and held an early lead, but China responded with a decisive run to pull away and close 25-17. The third frame was the toughest for the hosts, as Morocco forced them to work on offense before China eventually broke clear for the win.
China’s attack worked smoothly, registering 43 points in total. Gao Yuning had a standout night at the net with six blocks and eight kills for a team-high 14 points. Wang Bohan and Wu Haoze added 11 points each, while Wang closed with 12. Li Hai also contributed 11, showing the depth of China’s lineup across all positions.
Morocco struggled to keep pace against the balanced offense and strong blocking game of the hosts. Hicham Masmoudi was the lone scorer in double figures for the North African side, while the rest of the team was held in single digits.
The United States stayed close behind after edging Türkiye 3-2 (21-25, 25-13, 25-22, 21-25, 15-7). After dropping the opening set, the Americans regrouped to take the next two frames. Türkiye capitalized on turnovers to claim the fourth, but the United States answered with a dominant tiebreak, pulling away by eight points to secure its second Pool A victory.
The United States finished with 51 attacks, 14 blocks and 11 aces but conceded 37 points on errors. Yilmaz Uner led all scorers with 24 points, while Sean Kelly paced the Americans with 22. The USA’s broader production in the scoring categories made the difference.
Egypt also remained unbeaten, completing its second straight win in Pool A after beating Thailand in a tough 3-2 (25-20, 14-25, 22-25, 25-17, 15-10) match. Egypt overcame the attack barrage from Thailand’s Kittipong Sangsak and Christopher Arli Upakam, who each tallied 22 points to give their team a 2-1 lead.
Captain Hamza Awad Elsafy and Mahmoud Abdelbaki powered the Egyptian scoring with 18 and 17 points respectively. Defensively, Egypt mounted 18 blocks to stop Thailand, with Youssef Elrassas commanding the net with five, and Elsafy and Ibrahim Abdelmaksood each earning four. In the fourth and fifth sets, Egypt’s stronger defensive game contained the Thai attackers and carried them to victory.
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In Pool B, defending champions Iran kept their record clean with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-9) win over Puerto Rico. Morteza Narimani finished with 15 points and Armin Ghelichniazi added 11, including four aces, as Iran dominated with 40 attacks and 12 aces.
Poland matched Iran’s perfect run, taking its second win with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-20) sweep of Korea. The Poles outperformed in every category with 43 attacks, eight blocks and six aces. Wojciech Gajek led all scorers with 24 points.
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Canada entered the win column after a five-set battle with Kazakhstan, coming through 3-2 (34-32, 23-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13). Daniil Hershtynovich led with 22 points, Owen Weekes added 20 and Owen Harris contributed 17, including five of Canada’s 14 blocks.
Pool C produced more drama, with Japan staying unbeaten after outlasting Bulgaria 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 15-12). Takuma Kawano scored 24 points and Shunta Ono had 23 to lead the Japanese side past Aleksandar Kandarev and Georgi Bachvarov, who tallied 23 and 17 for Bulgaria.
Brazil bounced back from its opening-day loss to sweep Colombia 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 25-20). Felipe Parra Albuquerque led with 17 points, Martos Antonio Soares Neto scored 13 and Thiago Vaccari Kavalkievicz added 12, combining for 36 of Brazil’s 44 attack points.
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Czechia also remained unbeaten, holding off Cuba in five sets 3-2 (18-25, 25-23, 26-24, 24-26, 15-9). Tomas Brichta led with 28 points, while Cuba’s Daniel Martinez produced a match-high 41 in a losing effort. Czechia spread the offense across four double-digit scorers to stay at the top of the group.
Italy claimed the Pool D lead with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 28-26) victory over Ukraine, their second straight win of the tournament. Tomasso Barotto paced the offense with 18 points, while Lorenzo Magliano added 13 and Manuel Zlatanov had 11. Middle blocker Pardo Mati anchored the defense with six blocks, as Italy closed the final set on their third match point. Ukraine’s Oleksandr Boiko finished with 12 points.
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France also stayed unbeaten with a 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19) win over Argentina. Adrien Roure and Thomas Pujol scored 15 each, while Amir Tizi-Oualou added 11 with four blocks and three aces. Fausto Diaz led all scorers with 20 points for Argentina, which committed 34 errors to France’s 25.
Indonesia earned its first victory by beating Tunisia 3-1, powered by a strong display at the net. Muhammad Haikal Hidayatullah led with 25 points, including 22 attacks, while Dawuda Alaihimas Salam and Darda Mulya Muhammad contributed 12 and 10. Tunisia kept three players in double figures, paced by Adem Ben Messaoud with 15.
2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship: full schedule
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