TEHRAN - Vetnam defeated Iran 3-0(25-19,(25-20, 27-25) in the 2026 AVC Women's Volleyball Cup on Thursday.

Iran will play Hong Kong on Friday.

The 12 teams in the 2026 AVC Women’s Nations Cup are divided into two single round-robin pools of six.

Hosts Philippines, who made the podiums at the previous two editions – with bronze in 2024 and silver in 2025 – lead the lineup in Pool A. The pool also features the bronze medalists of the 2023 and 2025 editions Chinese Taipei, Australia, who reached the semifinals in 2024, Uzbekistan, who finished fourth in 2022, as well as competition rookies Korea and Kyrgyzstan.

Defending three-time back-to-back champions Vietnam headline Pool B as well as Iran, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Team Melli, who had lost to Indonesia 3-1and Kazakhstan 3-1 in their first two matches, will play Vietnam on Thursday.