Men’s World Championship Pool Previews: Pool D

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 D

Match Schedule

September 13 – USA vs. Colombia – 10:00 local time (2:00 GMT)
September 13 – Cuba vs. Portugal – 13:30 local time (5:30 GMT)
September 15 – Cuba vs. Colombia – 10:00 local time (2:00 GMT)
September 15 – USA vs. Portugal – 21:00 local time (13:00 GMT)
September 17 – Portugal vs. Colombia – 10:00 local time (2:00 GMT)
September 17 – USA vs. Cuba – 17:30 local time (9:30 GMT)

USA

The United States’ victory at the 2023 NORCECA Championship rewarded the team with one of the three spots reserved for their continent at the World Championship. In the Philippines, the Americans will make their 18^th appearance in the tournament. They only missed it in 1949, 1952 and 1962 and won gold in 1986 and bronze in 1994 and 2018.

Occupying the sixth place in the FIVB World Ranking, the Americans saw new head coach Karch Kiraly use a very young squad during the Volleyball Nations League. For the World Championship, he will count on the returns of star setter Micah Christenson and middle blocker Taylor Averill, who will form the core of the team with fellow Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalists Erik Shoji (libero), Kyle Ensing (opposite) and Jeffrey Jendryk (middle blocker) and up-and-coming outside hitter Cooper Robinson.

Cuba

Cuba also earned their spot at the World Championship during the 2023 NORCECA Championship, where they finished third. The Caribbean have a long history in the tournament, having appeared in 16 editions and made their debut in 1956. They got silver in 1990 and 2010 and bronze in 1978 and 1998.

The tenth-best national team in the planet according to the FIVB World Ranking, the Cubans are coached by Jesús Cruz since 2023. Inside the court, middle blocker Robertlandy Simón, who was part of the team that won silver 15 years ago, is the reference, having outside hitters Marlon Yant and Miguel Ángel López, opposite José Masso, middle blocker Javier Concepción, setter Christian Thondike and libero Román García by his side in the team’s most usual starting lineup.

Portugal

Portugal was one of the 15 national teams that earned the right to compete at the World Championship due to their positioning in the FIVB World Ranking. This will be just their third appearance in the tournament, following a 15^th-place finish in 1956 and an eighth-place finish in 2002.

The Europeans currently have position number 29 in the FIVB World Ranking. Their coach is legendary former player João José, who has been in charge since 2021, and has veteran setters Miguel Tavares and Tiago Violas as key pieces. Outside hitter Alexandre Ferreira and opposite Lourenço Martins lead the team offensively, while libero Ivo Casas stands out on the backcourt.

Colombia

Colombia’s third bronze medal at the South American Championship, won in 2023, enabled them to participate in the World Championship for the first time in history. It will be the first global tournament played by the team, which has found some success at the continental level lately, having won bronze at the Pan American Games in 2023 and finished fourth in the Pan American Cup, a few weeks ago.

Italian head coach Paolo Montagnani is tasked with leading the Colombians, who are 41^st in the FIVB World Ranking, into their first World Championship experience. Outside hitter Andrés Piza Hernández and Juan Felipe Benavides, libero Riol Roosvuelt and middle blocker Leandro Mejía are important pieces in the team’s playing system.

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