Varna, Bulgaria, September 23, 2018 - France play their
final match in the 2nd Round of the FIVB Volleyball Men's World
Championship against Argentina.
Head-to-Head
· This is the sixth World Championship meeting between France and Argentina.
· Of the previous five, France won three times (including the most recent encounter in 2014), while Argentina won twice.
· France have won nine of the last 11 meetings with Argentina at world level major tournaments, including 3-1 in this year's Nations League.
· World level major tournaments are Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World League and Grand Champions Cup.
France
· France have won four and lost three matches in their 2018 World Championship campaign, winning at least two sets in all seven matches.
· Including the bronze medal match in 2014, losses and wins have alternated in the last seven World Championship matches for France (L-W-L-W-L-W-L-W). If the trend continues, they should lose the match versus Argentina.
· France could win back-to-back World Championship matches for the first time since the 2014 third round, when they beat Germany and Iran successively.
Argentina
· Argentina have three wins and four defeats at the 2018 World Championship. They beat Poland in five sets and lost 3-0 to Serbia in the second round.
· Argentina could claim their 50th World Championship win. Their overall record at the World Championship is currently 49 victories and 47 defeats.
· Ever since their penultimate 2014 World Championship match, Argentina's results have alternated (W-L-W-L-W-L-W-L). According to this rhythm, Argentina should win this match.
· In each of their last 10 World Championships (1982-2018), Argentina have avoided losing back-to-back matches in straight sets. They play this encounter coming off a 3-0 defeat against Serbia.