Turkiye vs. Netherlands and Poland vs. Canada are scheduled for Saturday`s knockout round.
Published 12:05, 20 Sept 2025
Poland faced Canada in a five-set encounter during VNL 2025 in Chicago.
The eighth day of competition at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship in the Philippines marks the commencement of the knockout stage in Pasay City, with the first two eighthfinal matches. Saturday`s program begins with an all-European clash between Turkiye and the Netherlands. Subsequently, Canada will attempt to overcome the formidable Polish team to secure a place in the quarterfinals.
Eighthfinal 1: Turkiye v Netherlands
The first team to secure a spot in the World Championship quarterfinals will be from Europe, decided by the eighthfinal match between Turkiye and the Netherlands. This fixture is scheduled to start at 15:30 local time (07:30 UTC) in Pasay City.
Turkiye has not defeated the Netherlands in an official match since the 2018 CEV European Golden League, where they won a home match in five sets but lost the return leg, also after a tie-breaker. Three consecutive Dutch victories have followed in their head-to-head series, most recently a 3-1 win in the Volleyball Nations League 2025 in Xi’an this past June. Ultimately, both teams finished at the lower end of the final VNL standings, with Turkiye in 17th place and the Netherlands below them, facing relegation.
Turkiye`s best performance in World Championship history was an 11th-place finish three years ago. They performed exceptionally well in the pool phase of the current championship, topping their Pool G undefeated, dropping only one set (against Libya) across three matches. Along the way, the Turks also defeated higher-ranked teams like Japan and Canada, climbing two spots to 14th in the current FIVB World Ranking. Outside hitter Efe Mandiraci and opposite Adis Lagumdzija were key players in the pool stage, each tallying 45 points. Mandiraci also ranks as the second-best server of the tournament so far with 10 aces.
Dutch opposite Michiel Ahyi leads the best servers` ranking with 12 aces and is the Netherlands` top scorer with 61 points. The Netherlands` most significant achievement in World Championship history is the silver medal they won in 1994, their only medal. In the ongoing event, they finished as Pool B runners-up to Poland, after victories against Qatar and Romania and a loss to the world`s number one team in the decisive match for first place. The Dutch currently stand 20th in the World Ranking.
Eighthfinal 2: Poland v Canada
The second eighthfinal match will feature Poland against Canada, scheduled to begin at 20:00 local time (12:00 UTC) on Saturday.
Historically, Poland has maintained a perfect record against Canada in major world-level competitions, winning all 21 encounters. However, in their most recent clash during the VNL 2025 in Chicago, USA, this June, the Canadians put up a strong fight, winning the first two sets before ultimately losing to the mighty Europeans in five sets.
Poland went on to claim the VNL 2025 gold and is currently the top-ranked team in the FIVB World Ranking. With three world titles (1974, 2014, and 2018) and two silver medals (2006 and 2022), they are one of the most decorated teams in the history of the World Championships. To reach this encounter with Canada as Pool B winners, they dominated the first phase of Philippines 2025 with three-point victories over Romania, Qatar, and the Netherlands. Their star opposite and captain Bartosz Kurek is currently the team`s leading scorer, with a total of 32 points from the two games he participated in (against Romania and the Netherlands).
Canada achieved their best World Championship result in 2014, finishing seventh, and they are currently ranked 11th globally. They started their campaign in Pool B in Quezon City with a four-set victory over Libya. They then surprised Japan with a straight-sets win before being defeated by Turkiye in the deciding match for first place in the pool. Opposite Sharone Vernon-Evans leads the Canadian team with 44 points so far, while middle blocker Fynnian McCarthy was the third-best server of the pool stage with nine aces.
FIVB Men’s World Championship Schedule for Saturday, September 20, 2025
- Sep 20, 15:30 local (07:30 UTC): Turkiye v Netherlands
- Sep 20, 20:00 local (12:00 UTC): Poland v Canada
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick