The Brazilians started and finished strong against a talented German team.
South American volleyball powerhouse Brazil has secured the last spot in the Volleyball Nations League 2025 semifinals, joining Italy, Poland, and Japan in the battle for the title in Łódź this weekend. In a commanding performance at the Atlas Arena on Thursday, Brazil, the second-best team from the Preliminary Phase, swept Germany with an emphatic 3-0 victory (25-19, 26-24, 25-14).
This impressive win extends Brazil’s undefeated streak in the VNL to 11 consecutive matches. Their next challenge will be a highly anticipated rematch against Japan in the semifinals on Saturday, scheduled for 20:00 local time (18:00 GMT). The other semifinal will feature Italy clashing with Poland at 16:00 (14:00 GMT), also a repeat of a previous tournament encounter.
Brazil’s triumph was largely fueled by Olympic medalists Rosamaria Montibeller and captain Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimarães. Rosamaria led the scoring with 13 points, all achieved through kills, showcasing her exceptional form. Gabi, the team captain, contributed 12 points, including ten kills and two crucial blocks. Rosamaria reflected on the team`s progress: “The most important moment of the VNL is now, and I think our team is growing. We did an amazing job so far, but we want to keep growing. Germany played great during the entire VNL, and we needed to be very patient today and to focus on what we had to do. I hope we can keep doing this in the semifinals.”
On the German side, outside hitter Lina Alsmeier was the most productive player with 11 points, all from kills, before she had to leave the match in the third set due to an ankle injury. Fellow outside hitter Lena Stigrot and middle blocker Anastasia Cekulaev each added eight points to their team`s tally. German middle blocker and captain Camilla Weitzel shared her thoughts on their VNL campaign: “This VNL was certainly the best that we played. That makes it extra sad for us that we exit like this. We wanted to play better, but Brazil were the best team, and congratulations to them. It was an amazing experience, and we found a really good rhythm together. That’s what we’re going to take to the World Championship. We saw today that there’s a long way for us to go, but we’ll get there.”
Brazil demonstrated clear superiority at the net, outscoring Germany in kills (39-36) and blocks (11-5). While Germany managed more aces (five to three), Brazil maintained a significant advantage by minimizing their errors, giving away only 11 points compared to Germany`s 23.
This marks Brazil`s sixth appearance in the VNL semifinals across seven editions of the tournament. The South American squad will once again strive to win their elusive first title, having previously secured silver medals in 2019, 2021, and 2022, and finishing fourth in 2018 and 2024.
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick