Sofia, Bulgaria, September 23, 2018 - Bulgaria play their
final match in the 2nd Round of the FIVB Volleyball Men's World
Championship against Canada.
Head-to-Head
· These nations have met three times before at the World Championship, with Bulgaria winning in 1978 and 1998 and Canada in 2014.
· Bulgaria have won five of the nine matches against Canada at world level major tournaments, including 3-0 at this year's Nations League.
· World level major tournaments are Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World League and Grand Champions Cup.
Bulgaria
· Bulgaria have won four and lost three matches at the 2018 World Championship after losing in straight sets against United States on Saturday.
· Bulgaria have already surpassed their number of victories from the 2014 World Championship (3). They could win five for the first time since 2010 (5).
· All four of Bulgaria's wins have come in straight sets. The last time they claimed more straight-set wins was in 1986 (5).
· Bulgaria need a win to avoid recording their first back-to-back defeats at this World Championship. The last time they avoided this in a full World Championship was in 1994.
Canada
· Canada beat Iran in a five-setter on Saturday, ending a streak of three defeats at the 2018 World Championship.
· Canada could win their fifth match at this single World Championship, which would be one shy of their record (6 in 2014).
· Canada could win at least one set in eight straight World Championship matches for the first time ever. They have equalled their record, set in their debut tournament in 1974 (7).
· Canada are one shy of 50 defeats at the World Championship. They have 35 wins and 49 defeats so far.
· John Gordon Perrin and Nicholas Hoag shared the top scoring honours on Saturday against Iran (29 points each). Both Perrin (130 total points) and Hoag (112) are among the most prolific scorers at the 2018 World Championship.