As the 2025 CEV Beach Volleyball Nations Cup Finals approach their opening serve on Thursday, the 16 national teams competing in Espinho have now learned their initial opponents on their quest for gold in Portugal.
The draws, conducted on Wednesday – a day before the event`s commencement – established two pools for each gender, promising thrilling matchups over the next four days at the renowned Praia da Baía. Originating in 2022, the Beach Nations Cup is a captivating `country versus country` tournament, similar in format to tennis`s Davis Cup.
Each of the eight national teams per gender has been divided into two pools of four. The top three teams from each pool will advance to the knockout stages. Pool winners will earn direct berths in the semifinals, while teams finishing second and third will compete in the quarterfinal round.
Men`s Competition Pools
In the men`s competition, the Netherlands, featuring the duos of Stefan Boermans/Yorick de Groot and Alexander Brouwer/Steve van de Velde, holds the highest national federation ranking and has been seeded as the top team in Pool A.
The Dutch contingent will face reigning champions France (Téo Rotar/Arnaud Gauthier-Rat, Kéran Duval/Calvin Aye), Spain (Alejandro Huerta/Javier Huerta, Álvaro Vieira/Antonio Saucedo), and Lithuania (Robert Juchnevic/Artur Vasiljev, Arnas Rumsevicius/Karolis Palubinskas) during the preliminary phase.
Pool B is headlined by host nation Portugal, who will field teams comprising Hugo Campos/João Pedrosa and brothers Gonçalo/Tomas Sousa.
Portugal`s initial opponents include Norway (Anders Mol/Christian Sørum, Hendrik Mol/Mathias Berntsen), Austria (Julian Hörl/Philipp Waller, Tim Berger/Timo Hammarberg), and Denmark (Nicolai Hovmann/Christian Andersen, Mads Møllgaard/Kristoffer Abell).
Men`s pool play in Espinho will span Thursday and Friday. Quarterfinals are set for Saturday, while the semifinals and final match will conclude the event on Sunday.
Women`s Competition Pools
Among the women`s teams, Germany, as the continent`s top-ranked nation, leads Pool A. Their lineup includes reigning European champions Svenja Müller/Cinja Tillmann and the pair of Sandra Ittlinger/Anna-Lena Grüne.
Joining Germany in Pool A are France (Alexia Richard/Lézana Placette, Clémence Vieira/Aline Chamereau), the Netherlands (Emi van Driel/Wies Bekhuis, Mila Konink/Raïsa Schoon), and Lithuania (Monika Paulikiene/Aine Raupelyte, Ariana Rudkovskaja/Skalve Krizanauskaite).
Pool B consists of Portugal (Vanessa Paquete/Raquel Lacerda, Gabriela Coelho/Mariana Maia), Ukraine (Maryna Hladun/Tetiana Lazarenko, Valentyna Davidova/Anhelina Khmil), Spain (Daniela Álvarez/Tania Moreno, Sofía González/Ana Vergara), and Estonia (Eva Kuivonen/Liisa-Lotta Jürgenson, Heleene Hollas/Keira Lukas).
Women`s pool matches will also run from Thursday to Friday, with quarterfinals taking place on Friday as well. Semifinals are slated for Saturday, and the championship match will be held on Sunday.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood