Head-to-head
• France have won 13 of their last 14 World League matches against Japan, only losing 3-1 in 2007.
• The French have recorded five of their last six wins in straight sets. Their only set loss came on 22 June 2014, when Japan took the second set 25-19 in a 3-1 defeat.
• Overall, France have won 19 of their 22 World League matches against Japan, including their two meetings on 6 and 7 June of this year's campaign.
• Japan's top scorers in their 3-0 defeats against France had scored only 10 points (Kunihiro Shimizu, 6 June) and 9 points (Yuki Ishikawa, 7 June) in those matches.
France
• France need to win two sets in one of their matches against Japan to qualify for the Final Four.
• France have now won eight World League matches in a row. They never before won eight consecutive matches within a single season.
• France need one more victory to equal their record of nine World League wins in a row set in 2013-2014.
• France have lost only two sets this term, fewest of all teams in the World League this season.
• France are the only team that has not dropped a single table point this season, meaning that they have won all of their matches either by 3-0 or 3-1.
Japan
• Japan have won their last two World League matches and can win three for the first time since 2008.
• If they win both matches against France, they win four consecutive for the first time since 1993.
• Japan have won their last two in straight sets. The only time Japan won three matches in a row in straight sets was in 1990, all three against China.
• Masahiro Yanagida produced four aces against Korea last week, which is a team high in this year's World League.