Day 6: Two spots at the Men's Volleyball World Championship in play in the Philippines on Wednesday

Two more spots in the Round of 16 of the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship will be in play on Wednesday in the Philippines, when four of the eight pools will complete their match schedules in the tournament.

While Pools B and G have already determined the two qualified national teams and will have battles for first and third places going on at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, the scenario will be different at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay City, where Cuba and Portugal compete for the second spot in Pool D and European rivals Slovenia and Germany are the candidates to join Bulgaria in the Round of 16 out of Pool E.

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Pool B

The fates of all four teams in Pool B have already been decided, with Poland and the Netherlands making it to the Round of 16 after winning their first two matches in Quezon City and accumulating six points, and Romania and Qatar, which both have zero, ending their participations in the tournament in pool play.

The third round of matches will start with the duel involving Romanians and Qataris, who both want to return home with a victory, at 10:30 local time (2:30 GMT), and will have Polish and Dutch battling for first place later at 18:00 (10:00 GMT).

Pool D

After accumulating six points with back-to-back sweeps, the United States are the only team in Pool D already guaranteed in the Round of 16. Tied with three points each, earned with a win and a loss, Cuba and Portugal are the candidates to join them in the elimination rounds, while Colombia, which dropped both their matches without winning sets, are already eliminated.

Because they have a better set ratio, Cuba depend only on their own efforts to qualify, and they will advance if they beat the USA 3-0 or 3-1 at 17:30 (11:30 GMT) in Pasay City. Portugal, who face Colombia at 10:00 (2:00 GMT), need to earn one more point than the Cubans on Wednesday to progress - they can move forward even if they lose to Colombia in the tie-breaker as long as the Caribbean don't get any points against the Americans.

Pool E

In Pool E, the undefeated Bulgaria are through after collecting five points with a pair of victories in their first two matches. Fighting to join them in the Round of 16 are Slovenia, which accumulated four points with a win and a loss, and Germany, which have the same campaign, but only three points. With no points or sets won, Chile are set to head home after playing on Wednesday.

The pool situation has set up what could be viewed as the first elimination match of the tournament on Wednesday, as Slovenians and Germans will decide in a direct battle, scheduled for 21:00 (13:00 GMT), in Pasay City, which of them moves forward. Earlier, at 13:30 (5:30 GMT), Bulgaria will try to complete a perfect pool campaign against Chile and advance in first place.

Pool G

In Pool G, Türkiye and Canada have already qualified after earning six points with a pair of victories in the first two rounds. Yet to win a set, Japan surprisingly sit at the bottom of the standings alongside Libya with no points accumulated so far.

On the last day of pool play, Turkish and Canadians will decide the first place at 14:00 (6:00 GMT) in Quezon City, while Japanese and Libyans will try to secure their first victory in the tournament in their third attempt, at 21:30 (13:30 GMT).

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

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

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