TEHRAN – Iran national volleyball team had a disappointing start to the 2021 Volleyball Nations league (VNL), suffering a 3-0 loss to Japan on Friday.

The Iranian team, who missed captain Saeid Marouf ahead of the match due to illness, were defeated against Japan in straight sets (25-19, 25-22, 26-24) in Rimini, Italy.

Vladimir Alekno’s men left Iran without any warm-up matches and lack of coordination was one of the reasons they fell short against the Japanese team.

Ishikawa Yuki led the way for Japan in scoring with 18 points and Amir Ghafour scored 15 points for Iran.

Iran will meet Russia on Saturday in their second match in the 2021 VNL.

A total of 32 of the world’s top national teams have joined the VNL 2021 bubble in Rimini, Italy to showcase electrifying volleyball action for millions of fans worldwide.

The 16-team tournament began with a round-robin phase where each side will play 15 games.

The third edition of the competition is being held from May 28 to June 27 in Rimini, Italy.