Four European national teams have successfully advanced to the knockout phase of the 2025 FIVB Women`s Volleyball Nations League. They secured their spots among the top eight contenders after the preliminary round concluded last weekend. The European qualifiers still in contention for the title are the reigning champions Italy, the host nation Poland, the current European champions Türkiye, and Germany. They will compete alongside global volleyball powerhouses Brazil, Japan, the People’s Republic of China, and the United States of America.
Italy delivered an outstanding performance, achieving a perfect sweep of their opponents. They won all 12 of their matches, dropping only seven sets throughout the entire preliminary phase. This impeccable record secured them the top position in the standings, giving them a favorable path as they aim for their third FIVB Women`s Volleyball Nations League trophy. Winning a third title would see the reigning Olympic champions tie the United States of America for the most gold medals in the history of the competition.
Following their impressive start with eight consecutive wins in the first two weeks, Italy continued their success in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, adding four more victories. They began the final week by defeating Belgium with a commanding 3:0 win, followed by another straight-sets triumph over Serbia.
Their most challenging encounter came in a highly anticipated rematch of the CEV EuroVolley 2023 Women`s final against Türkiye. Italy took the first set 25:19 but faced adversity after losing the next two sets (21:25 and 21:25). However, bolstered by powerful offensive contributions – 20 points from Ekaterina Antropova, 17 from Paola Egonu, and 15 from Sarah Fahr – the star-studded Italian lineup mounted a comeback. They secured the final two sets with scores of 25:20 and 15:11, despite a strong effort from Türkiye`s star, Melissa Vargas, who scored 26 points.
After concluding their preliminary round campaign with a 3:0 victory against the Netherlands, Italy solidified their first-place finish with 33 points. This placed them two points ahead of Brazil, who secured second place having lost only one match in the league phase – against Italy.
Japan finished the preliminary round in third place. Hosts Poland secured the fourth spot, also with nine wins and three losses, matching Japan`s record but ranking lower due to an inferior set ratio. In the final week, Poland achieved wins against the Republic of Korea (3:1) and Bulgaria (3:0) but suffered defeats against Brazil (1:3) and Japan (1:3), causing them to drop from a potential podium finish to fourth place.
Türkiye also experienced losses in the final week, falling to Czechia (1:3) and Serbia (0:3), which saw them finish sixth in the standings. Germany, however, mounted a significant comeback. They secured wins against Canada, Thailand, and the Dominican Republic, alongside a narrow 2:3 loss against China. This strong finish propelled Germany to seventh place in the league round standings, securing their spot in the finals.
With the league round now complete, the final standings confirm the rankings of other European teams. France finished ninth, the Netherlands tenth, Czechia eleventh, while Bulgaria, Belgium, and Serbia finished 13th, 14th, and 15th respectively.
The Final Round of the 2025 FIVB Women`s Volleyball Nations League is scheduled to take place in Łódź, Poland, between July 23rd and 26th.
The quarterfinal draw features intriguing matchups. In the top half, a highly anticipated clash will see the two most decorated teams in the competition`s history, Italy and the United States, face off. Hosts Poland will play against China in the other quarterfinal match in the top bracket.
The remaining two qualified European teams are positioned in the bottom half of the draw. Germany is set to compete against Brazil, while Türkiye will face Japan. Both teams will be looking to win their respective matches to advance to the semi-finals and contend for a medal.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood