Milan, Italy, September 28, 2010 – The second round of the FIVB Men’s World Championship 2010 in Italy, which starts on Thursday, promises to provide an exhilarating three days of action with some exceptional pool combinations providing plenty of intrigue. Top of the bill sees the three medalists from the FIVB Men’s World Championship 2006 – Brazil, Poland and Bulgaria - in the same group together while world No. 21 Cameroon advanced to the second round of the Men’s World Championship for the first time in their history.

FIVB Men's World Championship 2010 official page

The final day of the FIVB Men's World Championship 2010 first round was completed on Monday amongst scenes of celebration and tears of disappointment as teams learnt their fate in the premier Volleyball event, which takes place every four years, with teams needing to finish in the top three in their respective groups.

After three days of thrilling first round action, highlighted by the final day of surprise results, a total of two teams from Africa (Cameroon and Egypt), one from Asia (Japan), two from South America (Argentina and Brazil), four from NORCECA (Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico and USA) and nine teams from Europe (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Serbia and Spain) qualified for the second round. The 18 teams are now split up into six pools of three across three cities – Ancona, Catania and Milan – for the second round.

The six pools will play over three days with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the third round, which will take place from October 4-6, before the semifinals from October 8-9 and the finals on October 9-10.

Pool G in Catania
A fascinating group featuring hosts and three-time world champions Italy (5), who finished first in Pool A, Puerto Rico (17), who finished second behind Russia in Pool C participating in their third World Championship and 1970 champions Germany (11), who finished third in Pool F.
Sep 30: Puerto Rico v Germany 5pm
Oct 1: Germany v Italy 9pm
Oct 2: Italy v Puerto Rico 9pm

Pool I in Catania
A group which features the most successful nation in men’s Volleyball with six Championship titles Russia (2), who topped Pool C, African champions Egypt (14), who finished second to Italy in Pool A, and Spain (37), who finished third in Pool B.
Sep 30: Russia v Egypt 9pm
Oct 1: Spain v Russia 5pm
Oct 2: Egypt v Spain 5pm

Pool H in Milan
Another intriguing group which is headed by one of the most exciting youthful teams in the competition Cuba (8), who beat world No 1 and two-time defending champions Brazil to finish first in Pool B, World League bronze medalists Serbia (4), who finished second in Pool F and Mexico (26), who finished third in Pool D competing in their first World Championships since 1982.
Sep 30: Cuba v Serbia 5pm
Oct 1: Mexico v Cuba 9pm
Oct 2: Serbia v Mexico 5pm

Pool M in Milan
Surprise package France (12) lead the group after the 2002 World Championship bronze medalists topped Pool E, and 1982 bronze medalist Argentina (9), who finished second behind Olympic champions USA in Pool D and two-time bronze medalists Japan (12), who finished third in Pool A.
Sep 30: France v Argentina 9pm
Oct 1: Japan v France 5pm
Oct 2: Argentina v Japan 9pm

Pool L in Ancona
Olympic champions and 1986 world champions USA (3) lead the group after finishing ahead of Argentina in Pool D, two-time world champions the Czech Republic (36), who finished second behind France in Pool E and the success story of the 2010 Men’s World Championship Cameroon (21), who finished third in Pool C to advance to the second round of the Men’s World Championship for the first time in their history after beating Australia in the first match between the two nations.
Sep 30: USA v Czech Republic 5pm
Oct 1: Cameroon v USA 9pm
Oct 2: Czech Republic v Cameroon 5pm

Pool N in Ancona
The group of death with European champions Poland (6), who finished top of Pool F, two-time defending world champions Brazil (1), who broke a run of 15 successive victories when they lost to Cuba to finish second in Pool B, and Bulgaria (7), who finished third in Pool E.
Sep 30: Poland v Brazil 9pm
Oct 1: Bulgaria v Poland 5pm
Oct 2: Brazil v Bulgaria 9pm

* Numbers in brackets () refer to world ranking