Iran reaches the final of the AVC 2026 continental volleyball championship

Iran won against Taipei in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Continental Men's Volleyball Championship. The match took place in Tehran on Friday, with a final score of 3:1 (25-19, 25-19, 21-25, 25-18).

In the match, Iran showed strong play, with Pouria Hosseinkhanzadeh contributing 425 points to the team. From Taipei's side, Yu-Chen Chang scored 18 points.

The victory guarantees Iran's advancement to the semi-finals, where the team will face Australia on Saturday. Furthermore, the tournament winner will secure a direct spot in the 2028 Summer Olympics, and the three teams that finish in the prize positions will qualify for the FIVB Volleyball World Championship 2027.

Iran finished second in Group C of the AFC U-20 Asian Cup China 2027 qualifiers after defeating the hosts Vietnam 3-1 on Sunday, despite initially being behind.

Vietnam took the lead in the 41st minute when Dau Hong Phong crossed the ball for Nguyen Quoc Khanh, who scored by beating Iranian goalkeeper Amimakhdi Maghsoudi with a shot into the near corner.

Iran responded five minutes after the restart. A long cross from Amirmohammed Karimi caused confusion in the Vietnamese penalty area, and Aryan Maali managed to equalize after the hosts failed to repel the danger.

The visitors completed their comeback in the 63rd minute when Mahan Beheshti calmly converted a penalty, putting Iran ahead 2-1.

Iran sealed the victory deep into added time when Abolfazl Zadeh Attar successfully converted a penalty in the 95th minute, securing the 3-1 win.

This result allowed Iran to finish second in Group C, while Vietnam suffered a defeat at home despite an early goal.

Iran concluded its participation in the 2026 Asian Youth Handball Championship, finishing in fourth place. This position was achieved after a loss to South Korea with a score of 29:28 in the bronze medal match held on Monday.

Before this match, the Iranian national team went through Group B. The teams participating in this group were Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.

The competition took place in Jordan from August 20 to 31 and simultaneously served as a qualifying tournament for the Youth World Championship. Thanks to its participation in the tournament, Iran secured a spot in the world championship.