TASS, October 11. The Russian men’s volleyball team has beaten the Italian squad in the eighth round of the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup in Japan.

The Russians won 3-1 (13-25, 27-25, 28-26, 25-12), scoring their fourth victory of the tournament, previously routing Iran (3-1), Canada (3-2) and Egypt (3-1). The Russian team also suffered four defeats — to Australia (2-3), Brazil (0-3), Poland (1-3) and Japan (1-3). Their next match will be played against Argentina on October 13.

After eight matches, Russia is placed fifth with 12 points. Brazil dominates the standings with 24 points and has not yet lost a single match at the tournament. Poland is second (21 points) as followed by the US (16 points with the eighth round match still to be completed). Japan, the host of the World Cup, is in the fourth place (15 points with the eighth round match still to be completed).

The Volleyball World Cup is held once every four years among twelve teams from all continental zones of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB). The squads play each other once and the country that scored the most points wins the World Cup. The tournament is scheduled to complete on October 15.

The Russian men’s team became the World Cup champion twice — in 1999 and 2011 — and took home silver medals in 2007. The USSR national team triumphed four times (1965, 1977, 1981, 1991), an all-time record.