U21 World Championship second-round matches to follow today

Check out all FIVB U21 World Championship second-round pool-play matches to follow on Wednesday and how to follow the matches live.

United States (0-4, 0-1 Pool G, 3 points) vs. Czech Republic (1-3, 0-1 Pool G, 3 points)
Match vitals: 5:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. CST) in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats, Live video
World Rankings: United States (No. 9); Czech Republic (No. 35)
NCAA players on U.S. roster: Kyle Ensing (Long Beach State); Jordan Ewert (Stanford); Patrick Gasman (Hawai’i); George Huhmann (Princeton); Micah Ma’a (UCLA); Austin Matautia (Hawai’i); Dylan Missry (UCLA); Brett Rosenmeier (Hawai’i); Scott Stadick (UC Irvine); Matt Szews (Ball State); Josh Tuaniga (Long Beach State); Gage Worsley (Hawai’i)
NCAA players on Czech Republic roster: None
World Championship appearances: United States (9); Czech Republic (1)
Best World Championship finish: United States (fourth place in 2011); Czech Republic (First appearance)
What to know: If the United States is going to achieve its goal of a top-10 finish at the FIVB U21 World Championship, it needs to win its next three matches beginning with a showdown versus the host nation. The United States continues the second round with a virtual must-win match against the Czech Republic. Both the United States and the Czech Republic are tied for third-place in Pool G after losing their second-round opening matches. Each team also needs a victory to have a realistic chance of finishing in the top half of Pool G. The top-two teams in this consolation pool at the conclusion of the three-match second round will advance to the ninth-place semifinals, while the bottom two teams will be relegated to the 13th-place semifinals. The United States suffered its fourth consecutive sweep to open the tournament with a loss to Italy on Tuesday. In addition, the United States is the only team at the World Championship yet to win a game. Hawai’i outside attacker Brett Rosenmeier finished with a team-high nine kills against Italy, while Long Beach State All-American opposite Kyle Ensing added eight kills. This was the first World Championship match that Ensing started and did not have double-digit kills. Ensing, though, remains among the top-25 players in the tournament with 39 kills. UCLA All-American setter Micah Ma’a also is in the tournament’s top 10 with a 0.67 blocks per game average, including a team-high three blocks versus Italy. The Czech Republic enters this match after suffering a three-game loss to Egypt on Tuesday. In addition, setter and team captain Kristian Cervinka in the postmatch news conference said it was the worst performance of his career and he was angry with his teammates and myself. The Czech Republic in the loss was without outside attacker Donovan Dzavoronok. Dzavoronok is in the top 10 of the World Championship with both a 53.85 percent offensive efficiency and a 0.43 aces per game average.

Iran (3-1, 0-1 Pool E, 1 point) vs. China (2-2, 0-1 Pool E, 1 point)
Match vitals: 12:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. CST) in Brno, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Iran (No. 11); China (No. 3)
NCAA players on Iran roster: None
NCAA players on China roster: None
World Championship appearances: Iran (11); China (15)
Best World Championship finish: Iran (bronze medal in 2007); China (silver medal in 1977)

Italy (2-2, 1-0 Pool G, 3 points) vs. Egypt (1-3, 1-0 Pool G, 3 points)
Match vitals: 12:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. CST) in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Italy (No. 5); Egypt (No. 11)
NCAA players on Italy roster: None
NCAA players on Egypt roster: None
World Championship appearances: Italy (13); Egypt (11)
Best World Championship finish: Italy (silver medal in 1985, 1991 and 1993); Egypt (ninth place in 2003)

Brazil (4-0, 1-0 Pool F, 3 points) vs. Argentina (2-2, 0-1 Pool F, 0 points)
Match vitals: 3 p.m. (8 a.m. CST) in Brno, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Brazil (No. 4); Argentina (No. 2)
NCAA players on Brazil roster: None
NCAA players on Argentina roster: None
World Championship appearances: Brazil (19); Argentina (14)
Best World Championship finish: Brazil (gold medal in 1993, 2001, 2007 and 2009); Argentina (silver medal in 2013 and 2015)

Japan (2-2, 1-0 Pool H, 3 points) vs. Ukraine (0-4, 0-1 Pool H, 0 points)
Match vitals: 3 p.m. (8 a.m. CST) in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Japan (No. 14); Ukraine (No. 15)
NCAA players on Japan roster: None
NCAA players on Ukraine roster: None
World Championship appearances: Japan (13); Ukraine (3)
Best World Championship finish: Japan (silver medal in 1989); Ukraine (ninth place in 1999)

Poland (4-0, 1-0 Pool E, 2 points) vs. Cuba (3-1, 1-0 Pool E, 2 points)
Match vitals: 5:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. CST) in Brno, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Poland (No. 7); Cuba (No. 13)
NCAA players on Poland roster: None
NCAA players on Cuba roster: None
World Championship appearances: Poland (9); Cuba (12)
Best World Championship finish: Poland (gold medal in 1997 and 2003); Cuba (silver medal in 1987 and 2009)

Russia (4-0, 1-0 Pool F, 3 points) vs. Canada (2-2, 0-1 Pool F, 0 points)
Match vitals: 8 p.m. (1 p.m. CST) in Brno, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Russia (No. 1); Canada (No. 8)
NCAA players on Russia roster: None
NCAA players on Canada roster: Daenan Gyimah (UCLA)
World Championship appearances: Russia (19); Canada (10)
Best World Championship finish: Russia (gold medal in 1977, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1995, 1999, 2005, 2011, 2013 and 2015); Canada (fifth place in 1999)

Turkey (2-2, 1-0 Pool H, 3 points) vs. Morocco (0-4, 0-1, 0 points)
Match vitals: 8 p.m. (1 p.m. CST) in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Turkey (No. 6); Morocco (No. 15)
NCAA players on Turkey roster: None
NCAA players on Morocco roster: None
World Championship appearances: Turkey (3); Morocco (5)
Best World Championship finish: Turkey (sixth place in 2013 and 2015); Morocco (ninth place in 2005)