The Group One newcomers had to come through a tie-break to claim a 25-22, 19-25, 26-24, 23-25, 15-13 win over their opponents in Pool B1.

John Gordon Perrin was Canada’s top scorer with 21 points.

"It was a good game for us," Canada coach Stephane Antiga said.

"We are still building our confidence and I am especially satisfied with the way we reacted when we had some troubles.

"It is always hard to play with Belgium because they play well constantly.

"I do not know if we were favourites in this match, but it was definitely a challenge for us."

Today’s other match in Pool B1 Group One, also held in Novi Sad, saw reigning champions Serbia beat the United States 25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21.

Brazil, the country who Serbia defeated in last year’s final, started their Pool A1 Group One campaign in disappointing fashion with a 20-25, 25-20, 25-19, 22-25, 8-15 loss at the hands of Poland in Italian town Pesaro.

The other match in the same group saw Italy delight the home crowd with a 25-22, 25-23, 25-22 win over Iran.

There was also Pool C1 Group One action today in Russian city Kazan, where the hosts beat Argentina 25-17, 25-18, 25-19.

Joining them in claiming a victory were 2015 winners and last year’s bronze medallists France, who overcame Bulgaria 25-23, 25-15, 25-22.

FIVB World League action is due to continue tomorrow.

Pool A1 sees Italy meet Poland and Iran face Brazil, while Pool B1’s line-up features matches between Belgium and Serbia and Canada and the US.

Bulgaria and Argentina clash in Pool C1 which also pits Russia against France.

The 2017 Group One finals are due to take place in Brazilian city Curitiba from July 4 to 8.