Varna, Bulgaria, September 16, 2018 – Winless Cuba are seeking to earn their first win in the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship, when they face co-hosts Bulgaria on Sunday.
Head-to-Head
• Cuba and Bulgaria meet for the eighth time at the World Championship, and for the fourth consecutive edition of the tournament.
• Bulgaria have won two of their seven World Championship matches against Cuba, straight-set victories in 1974 (Toluca de Lerdo) and 2006 (Hiroshima).
• Only Brazil (7) and Republic of Korea (6) have lost more World Championship matches versus Cuba than Bulgaria (5).
• Cuba have beaten Bulgaria at both of the last two editions of the World Championship - 3-2 in Florence in 2010 and 3-0 in Wroclaw in 2014.
• Of Cuba's five World Championship victories against Bulgaria, three came in a deciding set.
• Cuba lost all four matches versus Bulgaria in the 2015 World League, with two of those defeats in Varna.
Cuba
• Cuba have lost their first three matches of the 2018 World Championship: 3-1 against Poland, Finland and Iran.
• Cuba could lose their first four matches at a World Championship for the second time, after 1956 when they lost their first six fixtures on their debut in the tournament.
• Including 2014, Cuba have now lost four World Championship matches in a row. They could lose five consecutive for the second time, after 1956, when they lost their first six fixtures in the tournament.
• Miguel David Gutierrez Suarez is Cuba's tournament top scorer in 2018 with 42 points.
Bulgaria
• Co-hosts Bulgaria have won two matches and have lost one match at the 2018 World Championship so far.
• In 2014, Bulgaria also started their World Championship campaign with a win, a defeat and a win, before winning their fourth match in five sets against Egypt.
• After beating Puerto Rico 3-0 on Friday, Bulgaria could win back-to-back matches in straight sets for the first time since beating Germany 3-0 in their final match of the 2010 World Championship and beating Mexico 3-0 in their opening match of the 2014 World Championship.
• Nikolay Penchev set the pace for Bulgaria against Puerto Rico, scoring a match-high 14 points. Nikolay Uchikov is their tournament top scorer thus far on 34 points.