Croatia and Serbia are set to host the 19th edition of the FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U19 World Championship over the next 12 days. The event will bring together the world`s leading 24 youth national teams in the Croatian city of Osijek and the Serbian spa resort town of Vrnjacka Banja, running from Wednesday, July 2nd, through Sunday, July 13th.
The tournament commences on Wednesday at 15:15 local time (13:15 UTC) with four matches played concurrently across the two competition venues. Opening matchups include Egypt versus Canada in Pool A, a significant European contest between Bulgaria and Poland in Pool C, Argentina facing Puerto Rico in Pool B, and Japan taking on Belgium in Pool D.
The 24 participating nations have been allocated into four pools (A, B, C, and D), each comprising six teams, for the initial single round-robin phase. This pool stage will span the first five days of competition. Pool A features Canada, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Mexico, and Thailand. Pool B includes Argentina, Brazil, Chinese Taipei, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Serbia. Competing in Pool C are Bulgaria, Peru, Poland, Spain, Turkiye, and USA. Pool D consists of Belgium, Chile, China, Italy, Japan, and Tunisia.
The top four teams from each pool will advance to the eighthfinals. The remaining eight teams (those finishing fifth or sixth in their pools) will proceed to classification playoffs for places 17th through 24th. In the knockout format from the eighthfinals onwards, victory leads to advancement in the main bracket towards the title, while defeat sends teams to lower-tier matches to determine final placements from 1st to 24th on July 12th and 13th.
The preliminary pool stage is scheduled from July 2nd to July 7th, with a scheduled rest day on Saturday, July 5th. The eighthfinals will be played on July 8th. Following a two-day break, likely for teams to travel between host cities, the quarterfinals will take place on July 11th, the semifinals on July 12th, and the medal matches deciding the podium on July 13th.
Matches on all competition courts and days (except the final day) will start at 15:15, 18:15, and 21:15 local time (13:15, 16:15, and 19:15 UTC). On the final Sunday, July 13th, only two classification matches per court will be held, starting at 15:15 and 18:15 local time, to determine the final standings from 1st to 16th place. The playoffs for determining places 17th through 24th will be finalized on Saturday, July 12th.
This edition marks the 19th time the youth girls` world championship has been held. Serbia is hosting the event for the first time. For Croatia, it is the second consecutive time and third overall hosting opportunity. Croatia previously welcomed the tournament in Pula and Rijeka in 2001, and Osijek was a co-host alongside Szeged, Hungary, for the 2023 edition.
Historically, China leads the competition with four U19 girls` world championship titles. Brazil holds the record for the most medals, accumulating 10 (three gold, four silver, three bronze). Russia, including its time as the Soviet Union, has also secured three titles, while Italy, Japan, and the defending champions, USA, each have two.
The list of previous Most Valuable Player awardees includes players who later became major international stars in senior women`s volleyball, such as Brazil`s Natalia Pereira, China`s Yuan Xinyue, and Italy`s Paola Egonu. The anticipation now builds: who will be the standout MVP of this year`s championship?
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick