Brazil and Bulgaria achieved the most significant upward shifts in the FIVB Men`s Volleyball World Ranking following this year`s Volleyball Nations League. Both nations ascended an impressive four positions each, marking the highest gains among all participating VNL teams.
Brazil commenced the season on June 11th positioned as the world`s seventh-ranked team. By the conclusion of the second competition week, they had already climbed to fourth place, a standing they held as the VNL 2024 Finals in Ningbo began. Throughout the Finals, Brazil successfully overtook France, the current Olympic champions and former VNL 2024 winners, ultimately securing a bronze medal and solidifying their place as the third-ranked team globally.
Bulgaria started the season at 19th in the world rankings. After achieving their best-ever VNL performance, an 11th-place finish, they concluded the tournament ranked 15th.
Bulgaria celebrate their victory over Poland in Gdansk.
The Italian national team, which earned a silver medal – their first-ever in VNL history – also saw a substantial rise, gaining three positions in the World Ranking. They moved from fifth to second place, surpassing Slovenia, the USA, and France during their ascent.
Cuba and Iran each advanced two positions in the rankings, now standing at 10th and 13th respectively. Cuba made its inaugural appearance in the VNL Finals, finishing seventh overall in the 2025 standings, while Iran narrowly missed qualification for Ningbo, concluding their campaign in ninth place.
Japan and Turkey each improved their standing by a single spot, now holding fifth and 16th positions. Meanwhile, several teams maintained their pre-VNL 2025 rankings, including leaders Poland, eighth-ranked Germany, ninth-ranked Argentina, 11th-ranked Canada, and 14th-ranked Ukraine.
Conversely, the Netherlands experienced the most significant decline in the World Ranking among all VNL teams. In addition to finishing at the bottom of the standings in 18th place and facing relegation, the Dutch dropped six positions, falling from 13th to 19th place.
Despite a commendable fourth-place finish in the VNL, Slovenia saw its ranking drop by three positions, moving from fourth to seventh. Similarly, the USA, which placed 12th, fell from third to sixth. France, having secured fifth place in this year’s VNL, descended two spots to fourth in the rankings. Serbia, ending up in 16th place, also dropped two positions to 12th. China, the host nation for the VNL Finals in Ningbo, finished eighth in the final standings but moved down one spot in the World Ranking to 25th.
On the last day of the Preliminary Phase, Iran played their best match of the season but narrowly missed advancement to the Finals.
Brazil and Bulgaria were also leaders in terms of World Ranking points gained during the VNL. Brazil`s score improved by 50.56 points, increasing from 305.87 to 356.43. This places them 43.71 points behind leaders Poland and 11.59 points behind second-ranked Italy. Bulgaria achieved a net gain of 41.84 points, boosting their ranking score to 202.90.
Iran secured the third-highest points gain with 37.84, followed by Ukraine with 22.86, Italy with 21.70, Cuba with 11.35, Turkey with 9.56, and China with 2.81.
The remaining 10 VNL participants ended up with net point losses, surprisingly including gold medalists Poland. During the Preliminary Phase, Poland suffered several significant defeats that cost them a considerable number of points. Despite their strong performance in the Finals and winning the VNL crown, their score was 1.17 points lower than before the season began. Nevertheless, they maintained their leading position with a score of 400.14.
In terms of points lost during the VNL, the USA recorded the largest net decrease of 46.37. They were followed by the Netherlands with 38.02, Slovenia with 36.52, Serbia with 29.61, France with 24.47, Germany with 10.04, Japan with 7.04, Argentina with 4.74, Poland with 1.17, and Canada with 0.59.
Oliver Wrenwick 
Jasper Thornfield