Men’s World Championship Pool Previews: Pool B

Just five days after the new world champions were crowned among the women, the 32 men’s teams that will compete in the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship will get to start their journeys in the tournament, which is set to begin on Friday.

For the first time in history, volleyball-loving the Philippines will host the World Championship, having the Smart Araneta Coliseum and the SM Mall of Asia Arena, both located in the metro area of the country’s capital Manila, as the venues for the 66 matches that will be held from September 12-28.

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

The 21^st edition of the tournament will be the first in the new era, which will have the world title put in dispute every two years and 32 national teams fighting for it.

The 32 participating teams were split into eight pools of four and will face each of their three opponents during pool play from September 12-18. The top two national teams in each pool will advance to the elimination rounds. The Round of 16 will go from September 20-23, with the quarterfinals following on September 24-25, the semifinal being held on September 27 and the medal matches ending the event on September 28.

With fans from all over the world preparing to tune in on VBTV and enjoy the matches, we’ll preview each of the eight pools.

Pool B

Match Schedule

September 13 – The Netherlands vs. Qatar – 18:00 local time (10:00 GMT)
September 13 – Poland vs. Romania – 21:30 local time (13:30 GMT)
September 15 – The Netherlands vs. Romania – 18:00 local time (10:00 GMT)
September 15 – Poland vs. Qatar – 21:30 local time (13:30 GMT)
September 17 – Qatar vs. Romania – 10:30 local time (2:30 GMT)
September 17 – Poland vs. The Netherlands - 18:00 local time (10:00 GMT)

Poland

The winners of the 2023 European Championship, Poland claimed one of the continent’s three berths at the World Championship. The traditional powerhouse made 18 appearances already, missing only the 1990 and 1994 editions of the tournament, and are among the most successful countries, with three titles (1974, 2014 and 2018) – they also took silver in 2006 and 2022.

Coached by former Serbian star setter Nikola Grbić since 2022, the Polish are at the top of the FIVB World Ranking now. The team has one of the most powerful squads in the tournament, featuring the likes of outside hitters Wilfredo León, Tomasz Fornal and Kamil Semeniuk, opposite Bartosz Kurek and middle blocker Jakub Kochanowski.

The Netherlands

The Netherlands were among the 15 national teams that booked their tickets to Thailand via the FIVB World Ranking. The Europeans competed in the first edition of the tournament, in 1949, and have accumulated 13 appearances. They made it to the podium once, in 1994, when they took silver.

The Dutch are just inside the FIVB World Ranking top-20, in 19^th place, and have a new coach in 2025 in English Joel Banks. The team is going through somewhat of a rebuild in 2025 and won’t have star opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz, who took the summer off to recover. Without him, setter Wessel Keemink, opposite Michiel Ahyi and outside hitter Bennie Tuinstra will be among the team’s most important players at the World Championship.

Qatar

One of the fastest-rising national teams in the international volleyball scene, Qatar earned their spot at the World Championship by winning bronze at the 2023 Asian Championship, their first medal in the tournament, and taking one of the three spots reserved for the continent. With that, the Qatari will participate for the second time after finishing 21^st in 2022.

Ranked 20^th in the world, the Asians are coached by Argentine Camilo Soto, who joined the program back in 2018. Outside hitters Wadidie Raimi and Renan Ribeiro, middle blockers Belal Abunabot and Mohamed Ibrahim Ibrahim and opposite Mubarak Dahi Hammad form the core of the team.

Romania

Romania used the FIVB World Ranking pathway to qualify for the World Championship, being one of the 15 national teams that secured their spots in the tournament this way. With that, they’re set to return to the event for the first time since 1982 and make their 11^th appearance. The Romanians were a force in the first decades of the World Championship, participating in the first ten editions between 1949 and 1982, and winning four medals - silver in 1956 and 1966 and bronze in 1960 and 1962.

Leading the team since 2021, head coach Sergiu Stancu will guide the Romanians, who are 22^nd in the FIVB World Ranking, in their World Championship return. Inside the court, outside hitters Adrian Aciobăniței and Daniel Chiţigoi, opposite Alexandru Rață and middle blocker Bela Bartha will have a big impact on the team’s performance.

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