Varna, Bulgaria, September 17, 2018 – Cuba and Puerto Rico will clash for the first time to earn their first win in the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship.
Head-to-Head
• Cuba and Puerto Rico will play each other for the first time in a world level major tournament match.
• The world level major tournaments are Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World League, Grand Champions Cup and Nations League.
• Cuba beat Puerto Rico 3-1 in Córdoba, Mexico, in the 2015 NORCECA Championship semifinal. The Cubans went on to lose against Canada in the final, while the Puerto Ricans beat the hosts in the third-place play-off.
• Puerto Rico defeated Cuba 3-2 in Toronto in the 2015 Pan American Games quarterfinal. The Puerto Ricans went on to finish fourth, while the Cubans were fifth.
Cuba
• Cuba have lost their opening four matches at the 2018 World Championship and could kick off with five consecutive defeats for the second time after 1956, when they lost their first six fixtures on their tournament debut.
• Including 2014, Cuba have now lost their last five World Championship matches. They could lose six fixtures in a row for the second time after 1956, when they lost their opening six matches of the tournament.
• Cuba have won just one of their last eight World Championship matches, a 3-0 win over Bulgaria in 2014.
• Miguel David Gutierrez Suarez scored a team-high 13 points in Cuba's straight set defeat against Bulgaria on Sunday.
Puerto Rico
• Puerto Rico hope to claim their first win at this World Championship after four defeats.
• Puerto Rico won their first sets in this year's World Championships in their 3-2 loss against Finland on Sunday.
• Puerto Rico have lost their last five matches at the World Championships, since a 3-1 win against Italy in 2014.
• Maurice Torres scored 37 of Puerto Rico's 106 points in the match versus Finland.