The first of two all-European quarterfinals on Wednesday will be between defending champions Italy and trending Belgium. They will determine the first semifinalist of the 2025 World Championship in a direct duel in Pasay City, serving off at 15:30 local time (07:30 UTC).
These two teams already met once in this tournament. In the second leg of pool play action, Belgium achieved a sensational 3-2 (25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 21-25, 15-13) victory over the mighty opponent. The Belgians had not beaten the Italians since their two victories in 2017, when they celebrated success at both the FIVB Volleyball World League and the CEV Volleyball European Championship. Italy’s most recent win over Belgium dates back to EuroVolley 2023, when they took the Red Dragons out in straight sets.
Italy are one of the most decorated teams in the history of the World Championships. They triumphed with the world title three times in a row – in 1990, in 1994 and in 1998 – as well as at the most recent edition in 2022. They also have a 1978 silver around their necks. By finishing runners-up in VNL 2025, Italy climbed to number two in the FIVB World Ranking. Despite being the heavy favorites to win Pool F in the Philippines, they suffered a five-set upset at the hands of Belgium and qualified for the eighthfinals as pool runners-up. The southern European team started off with a shutout of Algeria and secured the second place in the pool with a shutout of Ukraine. In the eighthfinals, Italy defeated Pool C winners Argentina in straight sets. With a total of 59 points across the four matches played, outside hitter Alessandro Michieletto is the team’s best scorer of the tournament so far.
Belgium made it to the top eight of a World Championship only once in history, back in 1970, when they finished eighth in the final standings, their best result in the history of the competition. The western European squad earned its place in the 2025 eighthfinals as the undefeated Pool F winners. In between the straight-set sweeps of their encounters with Ukraine and Algeria, Belgium managed to deliver a sensational five-set win over defending champions Italy. Then, they went on to master a straight-set victory over Finland in the eighthfinals. From the number 17 spot they held in the World Ranking before the tournament, they have now climbed two spots up to number 15. The Red Dragons’ 22-year-old rising star opposite Ferre Reggers is the best scorer of the championship so far, with a total of 93 points towards the team’s four victories. He also shares the first place in the best attackers ranking with Bulgaria’s Aleksandar Nikolov, with 80 spike kills each. Another Belgian, 19-year-old libero Gorik Lantsoght, is the second best defender of the competition with 36 digs.
