Volleyball
Nine European nations are gearing up to compete for the championship title at the 2025 FIVB Women`s Volleyball World Championship. The highly anticipated knockout rounds begin on Friday, August 29, in Bangkok, Thailand, over the next four days.
Notably, four of the upcoming quarter-final matches will feature all-European pairings, guaranteeing at least four European teams advance to the next stage. Among these, the most formidable clash is expected to be between title hopefuls Italy and Germany.
Italy boasts a dominant record against Germany, having secured victories in their last seven competitive encounters, including a tight 3:2 win in the current Women`s Volleyball Nations League. This European powerhouse is on an impressive 29-match winning streak in competitive play, with flawless performances at both the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the 2025 FIVB Women`s Volleyball Nations League.
Italy`s Carlotta Cambi commented on the upcoming challenge, stating, “The elimination matches in Bangkok are starting, and our game against Germany will be a true fight. They have a distinctive and well-executed style of play. I anticipate a difficult match, especially recalling our struggles against them in the VNL in Rio back in June. Therefore, I expect the Italy-Germany encounter to be exceptionally close.”
At Thailand 2025, Italy currently holds the strongest performance record, having won three matches and dropping only one set against Belgium, Cuba, and Slovakia. Germany, in contrast, secured clean 3:0 victories over Kenya and Vietnam, with their sole defeat being a 2:3 loss to Poland.
The victorious team from the Italy-Germany match will advance to face the winner of another all-European Round of 16 fixture between Poland and Belgium. Poland, despite maintaining an undefeated record in the tournament, has dropped four sets so far, two of which were against Germany during the pool stage. This team has not reached the top four since 1962.
While Belgium has claimed three victories in their last five encounters, Poland has recently dominated, securing two consecutive straight-sets wins. These decisive victories occurred in August 2023 at the CEV EuroVolley Women 2023 and more recently in June, during the 2025 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League.
Magdalena Stysiak, Poland’s standout player, expressed her pride in the team: “I am incredibly proud of everyone. We fought relentlessly to the very last point. I believe we`ve finally found our stride and truly grasped that, even through challenging periods, we possess the ability to contend with any opponent and compete for victory until the conclusion.”
While the aforementioned matches are scheduled for Saturday, August 30, the Round of 16 kicks off earlier, on August 29. On this opening day, defending champions Serbia will challenge the Netherlands, and Japan will go head-to-head with the host nation, Thailand.
Serbia faces a significant hurdle as their captain, Tijana Bošković, may be absent due to an ankle injury. Bošković, named MVP in the last two championships, missed the final pool phase match against Japan, a loss that could make their path considerably more challenging.
Türkiye, striving for their first World Championship medal, enters their match against Slovenia on September 1 as the favored team, having swept all three of their pool matches. The final European qualifier in the bracket, France, is set to compete against the People’s Republic of China.
