With five spots at the Paris Olympics still up for grabs and several men’s national teams lining up for them, the Volleyball Nations League 2024 will be the battleground where the last tickets to the French capital will be awarded.
Teams vying for the coveted Olympic spots will bring their best players to the battle as the rosters of the 16 national teams set to appear in the sixth edition of the tournament were announced (subject to eligibility check to be conducted by the FIVB).
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The result of the matches of the VNL Preliminary Round, which will be played from May 21 to June 23 for the men, will all be reflected in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Rankings and the five best-ranked teams (including one from Africa to guarantee the principle of universality) still not qualified for Paris 2024 at the end of the opening round of the event will earn spots at the Games.
Currently in third place in the World Rankings, reigning world champions Italy are the best-ranked national team in the list to have not qualified it. They will try to keep their spot in the VNL and will have their main stars, such as setter Simone Giannelli, outside hitter Alessandro Michieletto and opposite Yuri Romanò, all available for head coach Ferdinando De Giorgi.
Tokyo Olympic bronze medalists Argentina are also well-positioned to claim an Olympic spot during the VNL, entering the event in sixth place in the World Rankings. Among the remaining players from the team’s campaign in the Japanese capital three years ago, setter and captain Luciano De Cecco, opposite Bruno Lima and outside hitter Facundo Conte all made the selection of head coach Marcelo Mendez.
Right below them in seventh place, Slovenia could confirm their first Olympic appearance in front of their home fans as the country’s capital Ljubljana will host matches in the third week of the Preliminary Round. Head coach Gheorghe Cretu will rely on captain Tine Urnaut, up-and-coming outside hitter Rok Mozic and opposite Toncek Stern, who returns after missing last season due to injury.
**VNL 2024: Men’s Rosters**
Also involved in the battle for Olympic spots, Serbia will have the experienced Aleksandar Atanasijević and Uroš Kovačević, while Cuba will bring the offensive power of Marlon Yant, Robertlandy Simon and Jesus Herrera and the Netherlands will put their faith in high-scoring opposite and captain Nimir Abdel-Aziz.
Already qualified for Paris 2024, last year’s VNL medalists Poland, the USA and Japan will also bring their best men to the court, with the Europeans calling up opposite Bartosz Kurek and outside hitter Wilfredo Leon, the Americans turning to setter Micah Christenson and middle blocker David Smith and the Asians trusting outside hitter Yuki Ishikawa and opposite Yuji Nishida.
Also guaranteed in the Games, past VNL champions Brazil and France will have stellar rosters to work with as returning head coach Bernardinho Rezende has included setter Bruno Rezende and outside Ricardo Lucarelli in the South American squad while Andrea Giani will have outside hitter Earvin Ngapeth and libero Jenia Grebennikov available for the Europeans.
The opening week of the VNL 2024 for the men will be from May 21-26, with eight teams playing Antalya, Türkiye, and another eight competing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The VNL 2024 Finals will be held in Łódź, Poland, from June 27-30, less than a month before the start of the Olympics.