Italy pulled off a sensational comeback from two sets down to beat Iran 3-2 (25-27, 27-29, 30-28, 25-17, 15-13) at Hiroshima Green Arena.
“I’m very happy with the win in this match, but it was a tough match and also a little bit of a strange match too. In the first two sets Italy had chances but we wasted them and Iran outdid us in many cases and won both sets. On the other hand, it looked like we had a low chance of winning the third set but we ended up winning it, so that was a bit strange as well,” Blengini said.
“The fourth set was point by point with continuous attack and defense by both teams and we were able to bring the match into the fifth set, and then we were able to win in the end. On Tuesday, we have another important match against a significant opponent (Brazil), so we hope to show our strength in tomorrow’s match as well,” the Italian coach concluded.
Italy top scorer Dick Kooy also says that the match against Iran was his team’s best game in the tournament.
“First of all, congratulations to Iran for the game they played today. But also compliments to our team and our staff, because I think this was the best game we’ve played at this tournament. Everybody who went in, everybody who went out, everybody helped our team to have this victory."
“This was great for the atmosphere and for the mentality of this young team. This is only one step ahead, and now it will be nice to play tomorrow, a very big game, and it will be another challenge for us to perform at the highest level,” Kooy said.