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Check out all FIVB U21 World Championship second-round pool-play matches to follow on Thursday and how to follow the matches live. In addition, to view the updated World Championship standings, click here.
United States (1-4, 1-1 Pool G, 2 points) vs. Egypt (1-4, 1-1 Pool G, 3 points)
Match vitals: 12:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. CST) in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats, Online video
World Rankings: United States (No. 9); Egypt (No. 11)
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 Egypt roster: None
World Championship appearances: United States (9); Egypt (11)
Best World Championship finish: United States (fourth place in 2011); Egypt (ninth place in 2003)
What to know: It all comes down to the final day of the second round to determine if the United States will remain contention for a top-10 finish at the FIVB U21 World Championship. Both the United States and Egypt will play each other in a de-facto play-in match for the ninth-place semifinals. The United States following a five-game victory the Czech Republic on Wednesday enters this pool-play finale in third place in Pool G and a point behind second-place Egypt. The top-two teams in the consolation pool earn berths to the ninth-place semifinals. Italy has already secured one of the pool’s berths after it swept the United States and Egypt earlier this week. Long Beach State All-American opposite Kyle Ensing led all U.S. players with a tournament-high 20 kills versus the Czech Republic. The victory also ended the U.S. four-match losing streak at the World Championship and was the third tournament match that Ensing finished with double-digit kills. Ensing enters this second-round finale in the top 15 of the tournament with both 59 kills and a 48.76 percent offensive efficiency. Hawai’i libero Gage Worsely also is fifth at the World Championship averaging a 2.71 digs per game, including having a match-high 20 digs against the Czech Republic. This pool-play match will feature several of the top middle attackers so far at the World Championship. UC Irvine Freshman All-American middle attacker Scott Stadick had a tournament-best performance in the recent U.S. victory with 10 kills and a match-high six blocks. Stadick is one of the 20 players at the tournament with double-digit blocks and is in the tournament’s top 15 with a 0.59 blocks per game average. Egypt middle attacker Mohamed Aly is second among all players averaging 0.88 blocks per game and has 15 blocks. In addition, Egypt middle attacker Seoudy Abdelrahman is third at the World Championship with a 58.06 percent offensive efficiency. Both Aly and Abdelrahman had a combined 17 kills on a .630 attack percentage in a sweep versus the Czech Republic on Tuesday to open its second round. While the winner of this match will be assured a berth in the ninth-place semifinals on Saturday, the loser will be relegated to the 13th-place semifinals. The United States has never finished worse than 11th-place in its eight previous appearances at the World Championship.
Cuba (3-2, 1-1 Pool E, 2 points) vs. China (2-3, 0-2 Pool E, 2 points)
Match vitals: 12:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. CST) in Brno, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Cuba (No. 13); China (No. 3)
NCAA players on Cuba roster: None
NCAA players on China roster: None
World Championship appearances: Cuba (12); China (15)
Best World Championship finish: Cuba (silver medal in 1987 and 2009); China (silver medal in 1977)
Canada (2-3, 0-2 Pool F, 0 points) vs. Argentina (2-3, 0-2 Pool F, 0 points)
Match vitals: 3 p.m. (8 a.m. CST) in Brno, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Canada (No. 8); Argentina (No. 2)
NCAA players on Canada roster: Daenan Gyimah (UCLA)
NCAA players on Argentina roster: None
World Championship appearances: Canada (10); Argentina (14)
Best World Championship finish: Canada (fifth place in 1999); Argentina (silver medal in 2013 and 2015)
Morocco (0-5, 0-2 Pool H, 0 points) vs. Ukraine (1-4, 1-1 Pool H, 3 points)
Match vitals: 3 p.m. (8 a.m. CST) in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Morocco (No. 15); Ukraine (No. 15)
NCAA players on Ukraine roster: None
NCAA players on Morocco roster: None
World Championship appearances: Morocco (5); Ukraine (3)
Best World Championship finish: Morocco (ninth place in 2005); Ukraine (ninth place in 1999)
Poland (5-0, 2-0 Pol E, 5 points) vs. Iran (4-1, 1-1 Pool E, 3 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); Iran (No. 11)
NCAA players on Poland roster: None
NCAA players on Iran roster: None
World Championship appearances: Poland (9); Iran (11)
Best World Championship finish: Poland (gold medal in 1997 and 2003); Iran (bronze medal in 2007)
Czech Republic (1-4, 0-2 Pool G, 1 point) vs. Italy (3-2, 2-0 Pool G, 6 points)
Match vitals: 5:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. CST) in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Czech Republic (No. 35); Italy (No. 5)
NCAA players on Czech Republic roster: None
NCAA players on Italy roster: None
World Championship appearances: Czech Republic (1); Italy (13)
Best World Championship finish: Czech Republic (First appearance); Italy (silver medal in 1985, 1991 and 1993)
Russia (5-0, 2-0 Pool F, 6 points) vs. Brazil (5-0, 2-0 Pool F, 6 points)
Match vitals: 8 p.m. (1 p.m. CST) in Brno, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Russia (No. 1); (No. 4)
NCAA players on Russia roster: None
NCAA players on Brazil roster: None
World Championship appearances: Russia (19); Brazil (19)
Best World Championship finish: Russia (gold medal in 1977, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1995, 1999, 2005, 2011, 2013 and 2015); Brazil (gold medal in 1993, 2001, 2007 and 2009)
Turkey (3-2, 2-0 Pool H, 6 points) vs. Japan (2-3, 1-1 Pool H, 3 points)
Match vitals: 8 p.m. (1 p.m. CST) in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Turkey (No. 6); Japan (No. 14)
NCAA players on Turkey roster: None
NCAA players on Japan roster: None
World Championship appearances: Turkey (3); Japan (13)
Best World Championship finish: Turkey (sixth place in 2013 and 2015); Japan (silver medal in 1989)