TEHRAN – The Iranian volleyball fans were hopeful that their volleyball team can make them proud in the 2022 FIVB World Championship, with a new generation eager to shine but the Team were knocked of the competition.

Brazil swept Iran in straight sets in Gliwice on Tuesday evening. Their outside hitter Yoandy Leal contributed the match high of 20 points towards a hard-fought 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-23) victory in the last fixture of the Round of 16.

Behrouz Ataei led Iran to a title in the 2021 Asian Volleyball Championship but he has yet to prove himself in the world stage.

Under his leadership, Iran finished in seventh place in the 2022 Volleyball Nations League last month and many fans and experts were hopeful that his team will show more eye-catching performance in the world championship, but the team were eliminated from the competition following a poor performance against Brazil.

Ataei’s team had lost to Brazil 3-0 (30-28, 25-23, 25-19) in Week 2 of 2022 VNL in late June but they played well against their powerhouse rivals.  

Amin Esmaeilnezhad scored 15 points for Iran in that match but he earned just three points Tuesday night.

Iran setter Mohammadtaher Vadi was far from good enough in the competition.

Iran volleyball federation has fully supported Ataei and his men so far but they didn't live up to expectations in the world championship.

The team must fix their weaknesses as soon as possible since the world championship shows that many countries have progressed in the sport over the past years.