TEHRAN – Iran lost to Argentina 3-2 (25-19, 28-30, 27-29, 25-20, 15-11) in the 2023 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Week 3 in Anaheim, the U.S. early Sunday.

Agustin Loser scored 21 points for Argentina and Iran’s Morteza Sharifi earned 16 points.

It was Iran’s ninth defeat in 11 matches in 2023 VNL .

Team Melli will meet Cuba early Monday.

The VNL Preliminary Phase features three weeks of competition, with each of the 16 teams playing 12 matches.

The eight best-ranked national teams in the Preliminary Phase will qualify for the Final Phase, which will be held in Gdańsk, Poland, from July 19-23 – host country Poland are already guaranteed a spot.