MANILA, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Argentina stunned reigning Olympic champion France in a five-set thriller to advance to the round of 16 at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship on Thursday.
Argentina raced to a two-set lead with 28-26 and 25-23 wins, but France responded 25-21, 25-20 to force a decider. In the tiebreaker, Luciano Vicentin's clutch swing delivered a 15-12 victory for the South Americans.
"It was incredible! We played against the two-time Olympic champions, so it was a big game for us. Of course, for them too, I think. I am happy. Our team won two sets, and after we were down, we came back. We just fight. This is our culture in our country, so we just keep going," Vicentin said.
Earlier on Thursday, Iran overcame host the Philippines in a grueling five-set match to reach the elimination round. The home side twice took the lead and held six match points in the decider, but Iran held firm and prevailed 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-23, 22-20).
"When you are playing with fear, it is difficult to play, because you are not able to analyze the situation. This is what I felt in the third set and in some moments of the fourth set, and also during the tie-breaker," said Iran coach Roberto Piazza. "Winning was really important and the only positive, because I know that we didn't play at our level at this tournament until now."
Elsewhere, Belgium swept Algeria 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-12) to top Pool F, while Tunisia dominated Egypt 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-22). Serbia outplayed Brazil 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-22). Finland beat South Korea 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 25-21). The Czech Republic shut out 西瓜视频3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-18), and Italy eased past Ukraine in straight sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-18). ■