TEHRAN, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Italy will open the second edition of the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League (VNL) on May 31 in the Chinese city of Jiangmen, Guangdong province.

Another big game to watch on the opening day is defending champions Russia taking on France at Novi Sad, Serbia, the international volleyball governing body said on its official website on Saturday.

The opening weekend has yet another huge match lined up, when Poland host Brazil at Katowice on June 2 in a rematch of the 2018 FIVB World Championship final.

The Jiangmen pool also features hosts China and Germany, while in Katowice, the U.S. and Australia complete the lineup. In Novi Sad, Serbia host Japan alongside Russia and France while in Mendoza, Argentina host Canada, Bulgaria and newly-promoted Portugal.

The men's VNL features 16 teams playing in round-robin over five weekends. The competition will wrap up on June 30, before the top six teams move to Chicago for the finals from July 10-14.