Day 4: Japan, Cuba and Germany look to recover from upsets and continue alive at the Men’s Volleyball World Championship

The fourth day of matches of the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship will mark the start of the second round of pool play and, at the same time, provide an opportunity for national teams that suffered upsets in their debuts to right the ship and continue alive in the tournament.

Asian giants Japan, Caribbean challengers Cuba and up-and-coming Germany are all in that situation, and will get on the court in the Philippines under heavy pressure on Monday, when the competition in Pools B, D, E and G take center stage.

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Pool B

Pool B is the only one among the four that will have matches on Monday, in which things went as most anticipated in the first round on Saturday, with Poland beating Romania and the Netherlands overcoming Qatar at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, in Quezon City.

With that, the two European teams get back on the court on Monday determined to secure a second victory and potentially qualify for the elimination rounds before the third and final round, on Wednesday. The Dutch will get on the court first, at 18:00 local time (10:00 GMT), to play Romania, while the Polish end the day with an encounter against Qatar at 21:30 (13:30 GMT).

Pool D

In Pool D, Cuba will try to recover from a four-set loss to Portugal and stay alive in the tournament. In order to do that, they will need to beat rookies Colombia at 10:00 (2:00 GMT), at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay City.

The other match of the day will feature the two undefeated teams in the pool, with Portugal going against the United States, who stated their campaign with a sweep of Colombia, at 21:00 (13:00 GMT). The winners have a chance of ending the day guaranteed in the Round of 16 and will, at the very least, find themselves in a great position to qualify.

Pool E

Germany’s defeat to Bulgaria in the first round of Pool E wasn’t as big an upset as the other two, but it complicated their situation in the standings, especially because they went down in straight sets. With their backs against the wall, they play Chile at 13:30 (5:30 GMT) in Pasay City.

Bulgaria will try to keep their great form against Slovenia, which swept Chile in their opening match, and the winners will be virtually guaranteed in the elimination rounds. The all-European duel is scheduled to begin at 17:30 (9:30 GMT).

Pool G

Japan’s straight-set loss to Türkiye was possibly the biggest upset of the first round of matches of the World Championship. With that, the Asians find themselves under pressure and need to defeat Canada, which topped Libya on Saturday, at 14:00 (6:00 GMT), in Quezon City, to keep their chances of advancing.

“We need to advance, so now we have to win our next two matches,” star outside hitter Ran Takahashi said. “We have no choice but to win and we’ll need to deal with the pressure of having our backs against the wall. I believe in our team.”

Türkiye, on the other hand, will have a great opportunity to book their tickets to the next round when they play Libya, at 10:30 (2:30 GMT), in the first match of the day at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship: Match Schedule & Results

FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship schedule for Monday, September 15, 2025
10:00 local time (2:00 GMT) – Pool D – Cuba vs. Colombia
10:30 local time (2:30 GMT) – Pool G – Türkiye vs. Libya
13:30 local time (5:30 GMT) – Pool E – Germany vs. Chile
14:00 local time (6:00 GMT) – Pool G – Japan vs. Canada
17:30 local time (9:30 GMT) – Pool E – Slovenia vs. Bulgaria
18:00 local time (10:00 GMT) – Pool B – The Netherlands vs. Romania
21:00 local time (13:00 GMT) – Pool D – USA vs. Portugal
21:30 local time (13:30 GMT) – Pool B – Poland vs. Qatar

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