Lodz, Poland, June 25, 2016 - Argentina and Russia achieved prestigious FIVB Volleyball World League 2016 Group 1 victories on Saturday, before they face each other on Sunday. Russia beat the world champions Poland and Argentina defeated the reigning World League winners France.
Head-to-Head
• Argentina and Russia will meet for the first time at the World League.
• Their last meeting at a major tournament was at the 2015 World Cup. Russia won 3-1.
• At the 2000 Summer Olympics these teams met in the semifinal. Russia won 3-1, but lost the final to Yugoslavia. Argentina lost the bronze medal match to Italy.
Argentina
• Argentina beat reigning champions France 3-2 on Saturday, ending a four-match losing streak.
• The win over France was Argentina's first win at the 2016 World League and their first win since beating Belgium 3-2 in the Small Final in 2015.
• Five players reached double figures in Argentina's match against France: Sebastian Solé (19), Cristian Poglajen (18), Ezequiel Palacios (14) Pablo Crer (12) and Nicolas Bruno (11).
Russia
• Russia beat Poland 3-1 on Saturday. Victor Poletaev became Russia's top scorer with 19 points.
• Russia have won three of their last four World League matches, the exception being the 3-0 loss to France on 24 June.
• Russia's last nine World League matches have not ended in five sets, since the 3-2 loss to Poland on 20 June 2015.
• Russia lost their last World League match against a CSV team, the 3-1 defeat to Brazil in 2014.