Three European sides still in the hunt for the title in the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League

Three of the four European sides entering the final phase of the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League have qualified to the semi-finals, with Italy, Slovenia and Poland progressing to the next phase, thanks to their wins.

The only eliminated side was France, which lost the match against Slovenia, 1:3, and failed to retain their title won in the previous edition of the competition.

For the third time in the last five years, Slovenia made it to the semi-finals, having finished both previous times on the fourth spot, in 2021 and 2024. But now, the European powerhouse has a chance for medals, after an excellent performance against France in the quarter-finals.

A 17-point outing from opposite Tonček Štern lifted Slovenia to a 3:1 win, as they won the first set, 25:22, but lost the second one, 15:25, against a hungry France side. Nevertheless, Slovenia upped their tempo again and were unbeateable, taking the next two sets, 25:19 and 25:18 to secure the win and their semi-finals berth.

The clearest win in the quarter-finals came from another European side, Poland, which brushed off their rotten run of form at the end of the preliminary round and powered to a clear 3:0 win against Japan, taking the first two sets in a hard-fought battle, 25:23 and 26:24, before running away with the win in the third set, 25:12.

Kewin Sasak, Poland’s opposite, continued his excellent form in this edition of the FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League, with 15 points, followed by Tomasz Fornal, who had 11 points in the match.

Poland made the semi-finals of the FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League for the sixth time in a row, having won a medal each time, clinching the title in 2023, the silver in 2021 and the bronze in 2019, 2022 and 2024.

Poland will meet Brazil, the team which has the best record so far in the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League, with 12 wins and a single loss, while the other semi-final will be all-European, with Slovenia facing Italy.

Looking for their maiden title in the competition, Italy, which had the second best record in the preliminary round, dominated Cuba in the quarter-finals, with exquisite performances from Alessandro Michieletto and Kamil Rychlicki, who combined for 33 points.

Italy won the first two sets, 25:18 and 25:19, before dropping the third, 20:25, but came back strong in the fourth set, to take it 25:21 and win the match, progressing to the semi-finals for the third time in history.

The two semi-finals between Slovenia and Italy, as well as Brazil vs Poland, will take place on Saturday, 2 August, with the medal matches scheduled for 3 August in Ningbo, China.