MANILA, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Underdogs stole the spotlight on Sunday at the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, as both the Czech Republic and Egypt upset favored opponents.

World No. 21 Czech Republic stunned No. 12 Serbia in straight sets (25-22, 25-23, 25-20). The victory earned the Czechs 16.88 ranking points, propelling them three places up to No. 18, while Serbia slipped one spot to 13th.

"I think you could see it in our celebrations how much we appreciated this kind of a win against Serbia. It doesn't happen very often to us. We built this team in a hard way, struggling and fighting for each other. I am very happy that everything was worth it," said the Czech Republic captain Adam Zajicek. "We are highly motivated to show the world that the Czech Republic is no longer a small volleyball country, but we are growing up."

Egypt also produced a major upset by overcoming Iran 3-1 (25-17, 16-25, 25-23, 25-20). Egypt's outside hitters Ahmed Shafik Said and Abdelrahman Elhossiny led the scoring with 18 and 17 points, respectively.

"The key was that everybody on the team - from the youngest player to the oldest, as well as the coaches - did their best for preparing the game very well. We knew exactly how to play against Iran, to counter their strongest points and play on their weakest points. Everyone did very well and I think this was the key," Elhossiny said. "It was a very good game for us and I hope we continue on this level."

Elsewhere, France dominated South Korea 3-0, serving 10 aces. Belgium swept Ukraine 3-0, Argentina came back from two sets down to beat Finland 3-2, Brazil overcame China 3-1, and defending champion Italy beat Algeria 3-0.