Decisive week to shape up knockout phase in the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League
Preview
The last week of the league round in the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League is due to take place from Wednesday, 16 July, to Sunday, 20 July, in Gdańsk, Poland, Ljubljana, Slovenia and Chiba, Japan.
The top seven teams in the league round, plus the hosts of the final round, the People’s Republic of China, will progress to the knockout phase of the competition, and the battle is on, with seven European teams still in the mix.
So far, before the last league round week, Brazil are on the top of the standings, with seven wins and a single loss, followed by Poland and Italy, both on six wins and two losses, with Japan, France, Ukraine and Argentina following suit, all teams having five wins and three losses.
Germany, Cuba, Bulgaria, the USA and Slovenia are all sitting at four wins and four losses, making the last round as unpredictable as possible, with anything bound to happen to see seismic shifts in the standings.
A rematch of last year’s Paris 2024 Olympic Games gold medal match involving Poland and France will be the highlight the week of the Volleyball Nations League 2025 Preliminary Phase in Gdansk.
One of the two national teams set to play in Gdańsk to start the week inside the qualification zone for the Finals, Poland are in second place in the VNL standings, with six wins and 18 points, just two points behind Brazil. But they made a statement of intent, as outside hitters Wilfredo Leon and Tomasz Fornal and middle blocker Jakub Kochanowski joined the team for the first time in this edition of the FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League.
In Ljubljana, hosts Slovenia, Italy, and Ukraine will all have to fight for their places in the qualification mix. Third-placed Italy (six wins, 17 points) and sixth-placed Ukraine (five wins, 15 points) enter the week inside the qualification zone for the Finals, with Ukraine punching above their weight in their debut.
Also looking to secure a spot in the knockout phase of the VNL are Japan, Argentina, Germany, Türkiye and the United States, which will face off at the Chiba Port Arena.
The final round of the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League will take place in Ningbo, China, between 30 July and 3 August.