Czechs send Iranians packing, make semis

Patrik Indra and Lukas Vasina did most of the damage in Czech Republic’s 22-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-21, victory over Iran to secure a semifinal berth in the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The wing duo combined for 39 of the Czechs’ 56 attack points to stop the Iranians on their tracks on their way to advancing in the Final Four in 55 years.

“Historic moment for us. Our team for the moment has no limits. We take the games how they come, we prepare and we play together and this is the result,” said Czech Republic head coach Jiri Novak.

The Eastern Europeans will take on the survivor between the United States and Bulgaria, which are playing as of press time, in the knockout semis on Saturday.

Czech Republic found a way to stop the Iranians’ fiery start in a hard-fought extended second set. It was enough for the world No. 17-ranked squad to regain its bearing to turn back the lone Asian team in the playoffs.

Indra finished with a game-high 22 points built on 20 kills and two aces while Vasina added 21 markers including 19 attacks for the Czechs, who made it this far for the first time since their predecessor Czechoslovakia, reached the round in 1970.

Setter Lubos Bartunek tallied 34 excellent sets for the Czechs’ well-orchestrated attacking sets that kept Iranians at bay.

Czech Republic also took advantage of Iran’s atrocious 31 errors to seal the match in one hour and 56 minutes.

“We will play against one of two big teams, Bulgaria and USA. We will see, we will see,” Novak said when asked about the team’s possible semis matchup.

“Bulgaria is a young team, USA also because they prepared [for] the Olympic Games 2028. We will see.”