Two teams that were in no way considered among the favorites before the start of the World Championship – Tunisia and Czechia – earned a well-deserved right to compete in the eighthfinals and will go against one another in a battle for a spot in the quarterfinals in Tuesday’s opening match in Pasay City, serving off at 15:30 local time (07:30 UTC).
The two teams last met in a 2022 Volleyball Challenger Cup quarterfinal in Seoul, Korea. Back then, the Czechs celebrated a four-set victory.
If Tunisia manage to overcome Czechia in the eighthfinals, it will be a historic success for the team. Their best result at the World Championships so far was the 15th place they took in 2006. At Philippines 2025, the African side started off with a straight-set win over the home team in the opening game of the Championship. Then, they lost to Iran in four sets, but in a deciding duel for advancement to the eighthfinals, the Tunisians shut out fellow North Africans Egypt and topped the final Pool A standings. They were 43rd in the FIVB World Ranking before the start of the World Championship. Now they are 10 positions up, in number 33. 22-year-old outside hitter Oussama Ben Romdhane was Tunisia’s leading scorer during the pool phase with 45 points across the three matches played.
Czechia, on the other hand, as a successor of Czechoslovakia, had a glorious past in the World Championships, with the titles in 1956 and 1966, in addition to four silver medals between 1949 and 1962. However, they have not reached the final four in 55 years. They entered Pool H of this championship as underdogs, but surprised Serbia with a shutout in their opening match. Then, they lost to Brazil and beat China, both in straight sets, enough to finish pool runners-up and progress. Czechia have moved from number 21 in the World Ranking before the tournament up two spots to number 19 now. Opposite Patrik Indra tallied 49 points to spearhead the team through the pool phase.
