Lausanne, Switzerland, June 1, 2017 - Kazakhstan and Germany clash for only the second time across any official FIVB competition Friday in Frankfurt, after Germany's sweep of the Asian side 3-0 in last year's World League.
Head-to-Head• Last year, Germany beat Kazakhstan 3-0 in the World League, in the nations' only previous meeting at a major tournament.
Kazakhstan• Kazakhstan will make their third World League appearance.
• They appeared in the previous two seasons. In 2015, they came 28th, last season 35th.
• Last season, Kazakhstan lost five of their six World League matches, including four by a 3-0 scoreline.
• Vitaliy Vorivodin was their highest scoring player in Group 3 in 2016 (69 points).
Germany• Germany made 12 previous World League participations and that includes three appearances as West Germany.
• Last season, they finished in 26th place, their lowest ever final rank in the competition.
• Their best World League result is a fifth place finish, which they achieved in 2011.
• Anton Brehme (17) and Portugal's Manuel Meirinho (17) are the youngest players in this year's World League competition.