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The Czech Republic and Bulgaria both scored come-from-behind victories on Thursday to secure their berths in the semifinals of the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship.
Opposite Patrik Indra had 20 kills and two aces for 22 points and outside hitter Lukas Vasina added 21 as the Czech Republic claimed the 22-25, 27-25, 25-20 and 25-21 victory over Iran, the only Asian team in the top eight of this World Championship.
Lukas Vasina (R) of the Czech Republic spikes the ball during the quarterfinal match between the Czech Republic and Iran at the FIVB Men's World Championship 2025 in Pasay City, the Philippines, Sept. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
After taking the opener, Iran reached set point first in the second set, but the European side took control with an ace by opposite Marek Sotola. Moments later, another ace by outside hitter Lukas Vasina closed the set for the Czech Republic. In the next two sets, the European side cut down on errors and took control of the game.
"I still don't realize what happened. It will take some time for sure," said Indra. "From the start of the game, we were under big pressure. We were about to lose the second set too, but the guys from the bench came in and decided that set to keep us alive. We did much better in the third and the fourth sets, but even when we were leading by seven points, the end of the game still felt so far."
"We wanted to show good volleyball, because we have really good players and a really good team. But we are not big stars yet, we were the underdogs, and it's been like a fairy tale," he added.
Later on Thursday, world No. 11 Bulgaria came from two sets down to clinch an 3-2 upset win over the fourth-ranked United States in the other quarterfinal.
Aleksandar Nikolov made 26 kills, two aces and a block to lead Bulgaria to the 21-25, 19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 15-13 win.
The top four teams will have a day's rest before Saturday's semifinals, where Italy will take on Poland, while the Czech Republic faces Bulgaria.
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