Egypt Captain Ahmed Abdel-Hay hits an unblocked spike against Argentine during their World Cup game in Japan, Wednesday 16 September 2015 (Photo: FIVB)
Egypt received their sixth defeat in Japan at the Volleyball World Cup, losing to Argentina 3-0 early on Wednesday.
"We played very badly today. Our players had no will today, only the captain was scoring and the other players didn’t help him to get a result. In general, this is the worst match we have played in this competition," Egypt coach Nehad Shehata told the tournament's website after the team’s 25-18, 25-19, 25-21 defeat.
The Pharaohs are still ranked eleventh with three points, while Argentina moved into fifth place after four victories and two losses.
"We didn’t play to lose, but we let Argentina have an easy win. They served and defended well today. In general, they concentrated better than our players, so they had an easy match. I hope we can play better next time," Egyptian captain Ahmed Abdel-Hay said.
In better news, Abdel-Hay is leading on the top-scorer’s table with 136 points in total -- 121 spikes, 4 blocks and 11 serves -- 16 ahead of Australia's Thomas Edgar.
The six-time African champions will take on Poland on Thursday, one day before they meet Russia. Next week they will play Tunisia, Venezuela and Iran.
They are targeting an improved global ranking of seventh or eighth. They achieved their highest late ranking in 2009, finishing eleventh.
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