Head-to-head
· This is the second World Cup meeting between Argentina and Iran. In 2011, Iran won 3-2.
· The only other meetings between these nations in major competitions were at the 1998 World Championship (3-0 Argentina victory) and at the 2014 World Championship (3-0 Iran victory).
· Two of these three meetings were in Japan, with the 2014 World Championships taking place in Poland.
Argentina
· This is Argentina's sixth World Cup participation. Their best result was a fifth place finish in 1985.
· They won their last two World Cup matches in 2011 (against Egypt and China, both in straight sets) and can equal their nation record of three successive wins, set between 1995 and 1999.
· They won eight of their 14 World Cup matches against AVC nations.
Iran
· This is Iran's third World Cup participation. They finished 11th in 1991 and ninth in 2011.
· They lost their last four matches in 2011 and can lose five in a row for the second time after losing their first six matches in 1991.
· They have won six of their 19 World Cup matches in total.
· Of these six victories, four went into a fifth set. They have yet to lose a five-set match at the World Cup, while 10 of their 13 defeats were in straight sets.