FIVB Men’s World Championship- Day 3
France shock champions Brazil, Poland and Bulgaria Qulaified

Fukuoka/Nagano/Saitama/Sendai, 19th November 2006 – France took revenge for this year’s World League final defeat by beating defending World Champions Brazil in the first round of the FIVB Men’s World Championship on Sunday. The victory came on another strong day for the European teams, with the continent sweeping the top spot in all four of the first round pools after three days.

Poland yet to lose a set in Pool A

Poland romped to a third straight win at Saitama Super Arena, crushing Egypt in straight sets. The Poles came home 25-13, 25-19, 26-24 with another high-speed display of power spiking and blocking and will be confident of heading to Sendai for the second round with a perfect 5-0 record if they maintain their blistering form. Egypt dropped to 1-2. Argentina came back from the dead to beat China 3-2 in another Pool A marathon. The South Americans improved to 1-2 by defeating China 22-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25- 17, 17-15 on their third match point to prevent a third consecutive loss. China had been the better team for much of the match but dropped to 1-2 in a tight group. Japan took a big step towards the second round by beating Puerto Rico 3-1 in a gripping encounter at Saitama Super Arena. Japan finally clinched a crucial victory on their seventh match point of the fourth set, 25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 36-34, to improve their win-loss record to 2-1 and drop Puerto Rico to 1-2.

France upset World Champions Brazil in Pool B

France roared back from a first-set loss to stun defending champions Brazil 3-1 in the battle of the Pool B favorites at the Marine Messe stadium in Fukuoka. Raising their game to near perfection in all aspects, the French had the normally fluid Brazilians sprawling to score a 20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 29-27 victory in their crucial first-round clash. The real Cuba finally stood up to be counted as they destroyed a surprisingly flat Australian side 3-0 for their first win of the w:st="on">Germany beat Greece 25-22, 28-26, 25-21 to take the group lead.

Bulgaria claim top spot in Pool C with 3-0 record

w:st="on">Republic. The Americans had slumped to defeat in their first two matches against Venezuela and Bulgaria, but made no mistake this time as they downed the Czechs 25-16, 15-25, 25-20, 25-23. Italy's rehabilitation in the World Championships continued with an occasionally nervy win over Iran. The Italians were coasting as they took the first set, but a spirited comeback by Iran suddenly meant the Azzurri had a fight on their hands. But the Europeans weathered the storm to come through 25-15, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19, improving their win-loss record to 2-1 and leaving Iran without a victory to their name.

Serbia and Montenegro sitting pretty in Pool D

Fourth-ranked Serbia-Montenegro stormed past Tunisia in straight sets to book their place in the second round. The team that finished just outside the medals at the 2002 World Championships won 25-21, 25-12, 25-23 to stay perfect in Pool D. South Korea kept alive their hopes of a place in the second round with a 3-1 win over Kazakhstan. The 11th-ranked Koreans earned their first victory of the tournament 25- 22, 23-25, 25-18, 25-21 against a Kazakh side still winless in Pool D — and in all likelihood out of the competition. Russia were at their awe-inspiring best against Canada, brushing aside the No. 12 ranked team in three sets. The third-ranked Russians, six-time World Champions, won 25-19, 25-20, 25-21 to improve to 2-1 in Pool D, with the Canucks suffering their first reverse.