The final week of the preliminary round for the 2025 FIVB Men`s Volleyball Nations League is scheduled from Wednesday, July 16, to Sunday, July 20, with matches hosted in Gdańsk, Poland; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Chiba, Japan.
The top seven teams from the league standings, alongside the host nation of the final round, the People`s Republic of China, will advance to the knockout stage of the tournament. The competition is intense, with seven European national teams still vying for a spot.
Currently, ahead of the final preliminary week, Brazil leads the standings with seven wins and one loss. They are followed by Poland and Italy, both holding six wins and two losses. Japan, France, Ukraine, and Argentina are also strong contenders, each with five wins and three losses.
Germany, Cuba, Bulgaria, the USA, and Slovenia each have an even record of four wins and four losses. This makes the upcoming final round incredibly unpredictable, with potential for significant shifts in the standings.
A highly anticipated highlight of the VNL 2025 Preliminary Phase in Gdańsk will be the rematch between Poland and France, a reprise of last year`s Paris 2024 Olympic Games gold medal match.
Poland, one of the two national teams playing in Gdańsk and currently within the qualification zone for the Finals, holds second place in the VNL standings with six wins and 18 points, just two points shy of Brazil. They`ve signaled strong intentions with the inclusion of star outside hitters Wilfredo Leon and Tomasz Fornal, and middle blocker Jakub Kochanowski, who are joining the squad for the first time in this edition of the FIVB Men`s Volleyball Nations League.
In Ljubljana, host nation Slovenia, Italy, and Ukraine will intensely compete for their positions within the qualification rankings. Third-placed Italy (six wins, 17 points) and sixth-placed Ukraine (five wins, 15 points) begin the week inside the Finals qualification zone, with Ukraine notably exceeding expectations in their debut season.
Japan, Argentina, Germany, Türkiye, and the United States are also battling to secure their berths in the VNL knockout phase, with their crucial matches set to unfold at the Chiba Port Arena.
The final round of the 2025 FIVB Men`s Volleyball Nations League will be held in Ningbo, China, from July 30 to August 3.
