Day 5: France, Italy and Brazil lead teams fighting for a spot in the Round of 16 of the Volleyball Men’s World Championship

With six spots in the Round of 16 of the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship taken on Monday by Poland, the Netherlands, the United States, Bulgaria, Türkiye and Canada, the race for the ten remaining berths will heat up on Tuesday, when another eight pool play matches will be held in the Philippines.

Leading the national teams from Pools A, C, F and H that will enter the court on the fifth day of matches are volleyball powerhouses France, Italy and Brazil, which will face different levels of challenges to confirm their presence in the elimination rounds during the second round of pool play.

• Watch the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship on VBTV

Pool A

After winning their opening matches over the weekend, Tunisia and Egypt are the only teams in Pool A that can end the day at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City guaranteed in the Round of 16 – the Tunisians play Iran at 13:30 local time (5:30 GMT), while the Egyptians meet hosts the Philippines four hours later.

With three points each, both of them need to win their matches 3-0 or 3-1 and hope that their African rivals either triumph or lose in five sets to be able to celebrate. If both Tunisia and Egypt win their matches, they will advance together.

Pool C

Back-to-back Olympic champions France earned three points in their first match in the tournament against Korea and control their own fate in Pool C - they will qualify regardless of other results if they defeat Finland 3-0 or 3-1 at 18:00 (10:00 GMT) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

“We watched Finland’s match against Argentina and were quite impressed by their level,” opposite Jean Patry said. “They’re a very physical team and will raise the level of the game for us, so we’ll need to raise ours as well.”

Argentina, which defeated Finland in five sets in their debut, can also end the day qualified, but they will need France’s help to do it, as although a victory against Korea at 10:30 (2:30 GMT) would get them very close to it, they’d still need the Olympic champions to take the Finnish down to create enough separation to advance before the third round of pool play.

Pool F

The two teams that triumphed in Pool F on Sunday, Italy and Belgium have three points each and will face off at 21:30 (13:30 GMT) in Quezon City. The other match of the day, scheduled for 14:00 (6:00 GMT), will have Ukraine and Algeria, who lost in three sets and didn’t get any points.

A second sweep would get Italians or Belgians very close to the Round of 16, but to end the day 100% guaranteed, they would need that whoever wins the other match, drops at least one set. If they win 3-1, then Italy or Belgium would need a tie-breaker in the second match of the day to qualify.

“We know their strengths,” Italian libero Fabio Balaso said about the Belgians. “They have several experienced players, and many of them have played for Italian clubs. It’s an important match and we need to approach it with the right mindset.”

Pool H

The scenario is somewhat similar in Pool H, which will have Brazil and Czechia, which both triumphed in their first matches and have three points, meet at 10:00 (2:00 GMT), while Serbia and China, who went down and didn’t get any, duel at 21:00 (13:00 GMT) in Pasay City.

Because they won in straight sets, Czechia have a better chance of qualifying on Tuesday with a second victory, while the Brazilians would need to not only win 3-0 or 3-1, but also that the duel involving Serbians and Chinese went to five sets.

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

FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship schedule for Tuesday, September 16, 2025
10:00 local time (2:00 GMT) – Pool H – Brazil vs. Czechia
10:30 local time (2:30 GMT) – Pool C – Argentina vs. Korea
13:30 local time (5:30 GMT) – Pool A – Iran vs. Tunisia
14:00 local time (6:00 GMT) – Pool F – Ukraine vs. Algeria
17:30 local time (9:30 GMT) – Pool A – The Philippines vs. Egypt
18:00 local time (10:00 GMT) – Pool C – France vs. Finland
21:00 local time (13:00 GMT) – Pool H – Serbia vs. China
21:30 local time (13:30 GMT) – Pool F – Italy vs. Belgium

Quick links:
2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship
VBTV
Volleyball World Facebook
Volleyball World X
Volleyball World Instagram
Volleyball World YouTube
Subscribe to Volleyball World's Newsletter