Nigeria face a Daunting challenge against defending champions, Italy in the round of 16 at the ongoing 2021 FIVB U19 Boys World Volleyball Championship in Tehran, Iran on Monday.

Nigeria qualified for the round of 16 despite losing their fourth group match to Iran 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-19) on Saturday.

Oyewole Oyedepo and Vincent Mathias were Nigeria best scorers with 8 points each.

Speaking ahead of the match against the Italians, assistant coach of Nigeria’s U19 boys Adekalu Adeniyi said losing four games in a row wasn’t envisaged and that Italy would be a tough one for his wards.

Adeniyi said the players will hold their heads high while playing against defending champions, Italy.

He said, “I know Nigerians expected more from us but it was painful losing four games at the Championship. The boys played with everything they got but were overpowered by Iran.

“Italy is the defending champions of the 2021 FIVB U19 World Championship, they won it in Tunisia two years ago. When we file out against them, the boys will play with everything they got because the pride of the nation is at stake.”