Brazil outlast Japan and return to the gold medal match

Brazil are set to return to the Volleyball Nations League gold medal match for the first time since 2022 after they defeated Japan in the second semifinal of the 2025 edition of the tournament on Saturday in Łódź, Poland.

Facing the same team that eliminated them in the semifinals last year, the Brazilians came out on top in a very competitive match and took advantage of a strong start in the fifth set to beat the Asians 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-18, 19-25, 15-8) at the Atlas Arena and earn another chance to win gold in the tournament for the first time.

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The South Americans are now set to face defending VNL champions and reigning Olympic champions Italy, who were their opponents in the final in 2022, on Sunday, at 20:00 local time (18:00 GMT), in the tournament’s gold medal match. Japan will face Poland earlier, at 16:00 (14:00 GMT), in the bronze medal match.

Brazil heavily relied on their outside hitter duo to overcome the Japanese in a tight match. While team captain Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimarães led the team with 25 points (24 kills, one block), Julia Bergmann came right next, with 24 (23 kills, one block).

“They demanded a lot from us, both physically and mentally,” Gabi said. “I’m proud of the team for the resilience and the ability to recover from a slow start. It wasn’t our best match, but we never stopped fighting, were able to recover from a difficult situation and start the tie-breaker well after suffering a tough loss in the fourth set. Italy played a great match against Poland in the semifinals, but we improved a lot during the VNL, and we know we have what it takes to challenge them. We want very much to win the VNL for the first time.”

The middle blockers also had key roles in the team’s triumph, as while VNL blocking leader Julia Kudiess registered four stuffs in her 13-point performance, Diana Alecrim produced five and also got to double digits with 12 points scored.

Japan had opposite Yukiko Wada, their leading scorer with 20 points (19 kills, one block), and star outside hitter and team captain Mayu Ishikawa, who produced 19 (17 kills, one block, one ace), as their most important players in the duel against the Brazilians.

“We’re really upset with this defeat in the way it was,” libero Manami Kojima reacted. “But every time we play Brazil we learn some important lessons that help us as we continue to progress as a team. Now we’ll try and prepare for the bronze medal match and work on the things that we need to do better.”

Brazil’s strong play at the net proved critical for their victory as the South Americans outscored the Japanese in both kills (69 to 62) and blocks (14 to nine). The Asians won the serving battle by three aces to two and also earned one point more than the Brazilians in opponent errors (23 to 22).

Volleyball Nations League 2025: full schedule and results

Present in three consecutive VNL gold medal matches in 2019, 2021 and 2022, Brazil are yet to win their first title in the tournament and will try to do it on Sunday against two-time champions Italy.

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