TEHRAN – Iran lost to Cuba 3-2 (25-22, 26-28, 25-23, 28-30, 15-10) in the 2023 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Week 3 in Anaheim, the U.S. early Monday.

Jesus Herrera Jaime from Cuba scored 28 points and Iran’s Bardia Saadat earned 17 points.

It was Iran’s 10th defeat in 12 matches in 2023 VNL.

Iran lost to Japan, Poland, Slovenia, Italy, the Netherlands, the U.S., France, Bulgaria, Argentina and Cuba and defeated China and Germany.

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