Three formidable European teams—Italy, Slovenia, and Poland—have successfully navigated the quarter-finals to secure their places in the semifinals of the 2025 FIVB Men`s Volleyball Nations League. France was the sole European contender to be eliminated, falling 1:3 to Slovenia and thus losing their chance to defend their title.
For Slovenia, this marks their third semi-final appearance in the last five years. Despite finishing fourth in both 2021 and 2024, the European powerhouse now has a strong opportunity to claim a medal, following their impressive victory over France. Opposite hitter Tonček Štern was pivotal, delivering a remarkable 17-point performance. Slovenia clinched the first set 25:22, dropped the second 15:25 against a determined French side, but then regained control to dominate the subsequent two sets, 25:19 and 25:18, securing their well-deserved spot in the final four.
The clearest quarter-final victory was delivered by another European powerhouse, Poland, who overcame a challenging end to their preliminary round form to sweep Japan 3:0. The first two sets were tightly contested, ending 25:23 and 26:24, before the Poles decisively took the third set 25:12. Kewin Sasak, Poland’s opposite, continued his exceptional performance in this VNL edition with 15 points, supported by Tomasz Fornal who contributed 11 points.
This marks Poland`s sixth consecutive semi-final appearance in the FIVB Men`s Volleyball Nations League, a streak where they have consistently medaled: gold in 2023, silver in 2021, and bronze in 2019, 2022, and 2024.
Italy, holding the second-best record from the preliminary round, showcased a dominant performance against Cuba in their quarter-final clash, winning 3:1. Alessandro Michieletto and Kamil Rychlicki were instrumental, combining for an impressive 33 points. Italy took the first two sets 25:18 and 25:19, briefly faltered in the third, losing 20:25, but regrouped strongly to claim the fourth set 25:21, advancing to the semi-finals for the third time in their history, with their sights set on a maiden VNL title.
The semi-final matchups are now set: Poland will face Brazil, the team with the best overall record in the 2025 FIVB Men`s Volleyball Nations League (12 wins, 1 loss), while the other semi-final will be an all-European showdown between Slovenia and Italy. Both semi-final matches are scheduled for Saturday, August 2nd, with the highly anticipated medal matches to follow on Sunday, August 3rd, all taking place in Ningbo, China.
