Head-to-head
· Japan meet Egypt for the sixth time at the World Cup, winning all previous five meetings, losing only three sets.
· In 1985, 1995 and 2003, Japan defeated Egypt in straight sets, in 2007 3-2 and in 2011 3-1.
· In all major competitions, this is the 16th meeting between these nations. Japan have won 13 of the previous 15.
· The World Cup meeting in 2011 was the last between these countries in any major competitions.
· Egypt's only two victories against Japan came at the 2008 World League, with both matches taking place in Egypt (Alexandria).
Japan
· Hosts Japan have participate in all previous 12 editions, which all took place in Japan except the first two editions in 1965 (Poland) and 1969 (East Germany).
· Japan's best result was set in 1969 and 1977, finishing second behind East Germany and Soviet Union respectively.
· They have won only two of their last 16 World Cup matches, both in 2011, against Egypt (3-1) and China (3-0).
Egypt
· Egypt participate for the seventh time at the World Cup. In five of the six previous participations, they finished in the bottom two, with 2007 the only exception, when they finished 10th ahead of Korea and Tunisia.
· They have lost their last eight matches at the World Cup, after a 3-0 win over China in 2011. Between 2003 and 2007, they lost 10 successive World Cup matches. Their nation record is 14 successive World Cup defeats, set between 1977 and 1995.
· That match against China was their last World Cup match in which they won more than one set.
· Their next defeat will be their 50th in the competition. Two nations have already lost 50 World Cup matches: Japan and Tunisia.