Belgium, Finland, and Ukraine make history at the World Championship in the Philippines
Recap
The fifth day of the preliminary phase of the Men’s Volleyball World Championship has concluded. On Tuesday, matches were held in Pools A, C, F, and H. Once again, European teams demonstrated their high level of play.
Pool A
Iran - Tunisia 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-16)
Philippines - Egypt 3-1 (29-27, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21)
The Philippines claimed a historic milestone by earning their first ever Men’s World Championship win, defeating Egypt 3-1. With all teams in Pool A now at 1-1, Thursday’s matches – Philippines vs Iran and Egypt vs Tunisia – will decide which two sides advance to the Round of 16.
Ranked 88th before the game, the hosts gained 18.14 ranking points to rise to 77th. Egypt dropped from 21st to 22nd. The Philippines committed 33 errors but outperformed in spiking (58-52), aces (4-1), and blocks (11-8).
Captain Bryan Bagunas led with 25 points (23 kills, 2 blocks), Leo Ordiales added 21 points with a 61% success rate, and Marck Espejo tallied 13, finishing the match with the winning block.
For Egypt, Seif Abed scored 15 points, while Mohamed Osman Elhaddad Hamada impressed with 14, including five blocks and an 82% attacking rate.
Pool C
Argentina - Korea 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 25-18)
France - Finland 2-3 (19-25, 25-17, 27-29, 25-21, 9-15)
Finland pulled off a major surprise, defeating reigning double Olympic champions France 3-2. The victory lifted Finland to third place in Pool C (1-1, 3 points), keeping their playoff hopes alive if they beat Korea in straight sets. France, also 1-1 with 4 points, must now overcome Argentina.
Finland excelled with blocking (14-10) and fewer errors (31 vs. 39). Petteri Tyynismaa contributed five blocks and 13 points, Joonas Mikael Jokela led with 20 points, and Luka Marttila added 15. France had the top scorer, Jean Patry, with 23 points, while Yacine Louati scored 17 and Barthelemy Chinenyeze 12. Despite outspiking Finland 58-49, the French fell short in the tie-break.
Both teams conclude pool play on September 18: Finland face Korea, France play Argentina.
Pool F
Ukraine - Algeria 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-11)
Italy - Belgium 2-3 (23-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 13-15)
In the final match of the day, Belgium secured their second consecutive win and officially qualified for the Round of 16, this time defeating Italy. The Red Dragons claimed the first two sets, while the Azzurri took control near the end of the third set and reached 25 points first. Italy also won the fourth set, but Belgium regained momentum and clinched the victory in the fifth.
Match stats – Italy vs. Belgium:
Attacks: 54–62 in favor of Belgium
Blocks: Italy 14 – Belgium 11
Aces: 6 each
Opponent errors: Italy 32 – Belgium 29
Top scorers for Belgium:
Ferre Reggers – 31 points (27 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces)
Sam Deroo – 17 points (14 kills, 3 blocks)
Seppe Rotty – 16 points (12 kills, 3 blocks, 1 ace)
Top scorers for Italy:
Mattia Bottolo – 17 points (16 kills, 1 block)
Alessandro Michieletto – 16 points (12 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces)
Italy (4 points) and Ukraine (3 points) will face each other next, with only one able to surpass Belgium in the standings.
Pool H
Brazil - Czechia 3-0 (25-11, 25-22, 25-18)
Serbia - China 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 29-27)
Serbia kept their hopes alive at the Men’s World Championship by defeating China 3-0. After losing to Czechia in their opener, Serbia earned their first three points in Pool H, now tied with Czechia and three points behind leaders Brazil. A straight-set win over Brazil on Thursday would guarantee qualification, though other results could also work in their favor.
Dražen Luburić led Serbia with 17 points (15 kills, one block, one ace), while Pavle Perić and Aleksandar Nedeljković added 11 each. For China, Bin Wang scored 16 points (15 kills, one ace).
Serbia’s stronger attack (45-35 kills) and fewer errors (19 vs. 25) were decisive. Each team produced two aces, while China held a slight blocking advantage (8-7).
Pool H concludes Thursday with Brazil vs Serbia and Czechia vs China.