Men’s World Championship Pool Previews: Pool F

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 F

Match Schedule

September 14 – Ukraine vs. Belgium – 14:00 local time (6:00 GMT)
September 14 – Italy vs. Algeria – 21:30 local time (13:30 GMT)
September 16 – Ukraine vs. Algeria – 14:00 local time (6:00 GMT)
September 16 – Italy vs. Belgium – 21:30 local time (13:30 GMT)
September 18 – Belgium vs. Algeria – 14:00 local time (6:00 GMT)
September 18 – Italy vs. Ukraine – 21:30 local time (13:30 GMT)

Italy

Italy qualified for the 2025 World Championship as the defending champions, following their victory in the 2022 edition of the tournament. The Europeans were present in the first-ever edition, in 1949, and have made 18 appearances since then, missing only the 1952 and 1960 tournaments, and rank second among the most successful national teams, with four golds (1990, 1994, 1998 and 2022) and one silver (1978).

The second-best team in the FIVB World Ranking, the Italians are coached by Ferdinando De Giorgi, who was present in their first three titles as a player and the most recent one as the head coach, since 2021. Outside hitter Daniele Lavia will miss the tournament due to a hand injury, but setter Simone Giannelli, opposites Yuri Romanò and Kamil Rychklicki, outside hitter Alessandro Michieletto and libero Fabio Balaso will try to take the team to their second-straight title.

Ukraine

Like other 14 national teams, Ukraine benefited from their position in the FIVB World Ranking to earn a spot at the World Championship. In the Philippines, they will compete in the event for just the third time, following a tenth-place finish in 1998 and a seventh-place finish in 2022.

Fresh from their first appearance on the Volleyball Nations League, the Ukrainians currently appear in 14^th place in the FIVB World Ranking. Some of the Ukrainian standouts in the tournament, opposite Vasyl Tupchii, outside hitters Dmytro Yanchuk and Illia Kovalov and middle blocker Yuriy Semenyuk will lead the team in the Philippines under the guidance of second-year Argentine head coach Raúl Lozano.

Belgium

Belgium were also among the 15 national teams that qualified for the World Championship via the FIVB World Ranking. The country’s tenth appearance in the tournament will also mark their return after missing in 2022. The Belgians were part of the inaugural edition, in 1949, and had their best result in 1970, when they ranked eighth.

Belgium are in 17^th place in the FIVB World Ranking but are set to improve next year, when they will compete in the Volleyball Nations League for the first time. Coached by Italian Emanuele Zanini since 2021, the Belgians have star outside hitter Sam Deroo as a key player – setter Stijn D'Hulst, opposite Ferre Reggers and middle blocker Wout D'Heer also have significant experience at the highest level.

Algeria

Algeria’s qualification for the World Championship was sealed in 2023, when they finished second in the African Championship and were awarded one of the continent’s three spots in the tournament. With that, the Algerians will get to compete against the elite of the sport again, 27 years after their most recent appearance in the tournament, in 1998. They also qualified in 1994, when they had their best result, finishing 13^th.

Having not played international matches since their silver-medal-winning campaign at the African Championship in 2023, the Algerians are currently in 88^th place in the FIVB World Ranking. The team has been coached by Abdelkrim Bernaoui since 2023 and has libero Ilyas Achouri, outside hitters Soufiane Hosni and Farouk Tizit and middle blocker Mohamed Amine Oumessad as some of their most experienced players.

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