GENEVA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Germany pushed Cuba close but failed to win at home, as France and Russia both claimed victories on the opening day of the fourth weekend competitions in the 2010 FIVB World League on Friday.

Cuba had to take Germany to five sets to see the home side off in Trier as the visitors picked up a 25-23, 17-25, 26-24, 23-25, 15-13 win to remain on top of Pool D.

"The game was really long and both teams wanted to win, because the match is very important for the qualification to the final round," Cuba captain Robertlandy Simon said.

"We made too many errors in the services, nevertheless so far this was the best of our matches during the World League," He said.

Earlier on in the day, a strong Russia side took little time in beating Egypt in straight sets (25-18, 25-18, 25-16) on home soil. The victory took Russia to a win-loss record of 7-0 as Egypt slumped to their sixth defeat in seven matches in this year's tournament.

In the day's final match, France clinched their second victory in their World League campaign with a 19-25, 25-29, 25-20, 17-25, 25-13 victory over Italy in Paris.

Italy had a good start but France were determined to stay in the game. Their stubbornness paid off when suddenly they came to life in the second and helped grind out an important win.