Three days after women started their 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League, it was the turn of men’s national teams to do the same.
The opening day of the 2021 Men’s VNL in the Rimini bubble (Italy) went without upsets in the first three games.
In their first match in 16 months, the France National Team was better than Bulgaria: 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-23) even though they played without Earvin Ngapeth and Jénia Grebennikov who were left on the stands by the decision of the head coach Laurent Tillie. Jean Patry and Yacine Louati scored 10 points apiece for ‘Les Bleus’. Tsvetan Sokolov put down 19 points for Bulgaria.
Deprived of the help of their injured captain Lukas Kampa, Germany started the competition with a straight-set victory. The team commanded by Andrea Giani prevailed over Australia, partially 25-19, 25-18, and 25-16, mostly thanks to Christian Fromm (15 points).
Just like their female colleagues, who finished the first week undefeated, Japan Men also stepped onto the winning paths. Led by Yuki Ishikawa (18 points), they stunned Iran (Amir Ghafour 15 points, Milad Ebadipour 4 blocks), sweeping them in three sets and spoiling a debut of Vladimir Alekno on the bench of the Asian side.
2021 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League – Day 1:
France – Bulgaria 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-23)
Germany – Australia 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-16)
Japan – Iran 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 26-24)
Serbia vs Slovenia, 3 p.m. CET
Netherlands vs Russia, 4 p.m. CET
USA vs Canada, 6 p.m. CET
Poland vs Italy, 7:30 p.m. CET
Brazil vs Argentina, 9 p.m. CET
