Men’s World Championship Pool Previews: Pool H

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 H

Match Schedule

September 14 – Serbia vs. Czechia – 17:30 local time (9:30 GMT)
September 14 – Brazil vs. China – 21:00 local time (13:00 GMT)
September 16 – Brazil vs. Czechia – 10:00 local time (2:00 GMT)
September 16 – Serbia vs. China – 21:00 local time (13:00 GMT)
September 18 – Brazil vs. Serbia – 10:00 local time (2:00 GMT)
September 18 – Czechia vs. China – 21:00 local time (13:00 GMT)

Brazil

By finishing second in the 2023 South American Championship, Brazil claimed one of the three spots reserved for the continent at the World Championship. The Brazilians made their first appearance in the third edition, in 1956, and never missed the event, participating for a 19^th-straight time in 2025. They are also among the most successful, amassing three golds (2002, 2006, 2010), three silvers (1982, 2014, 2018) and one bronze (2022).

Coached by the legendary Bernardo ‘Bernardinho’ Rezende for the second time since 2024, Brazil rank third in the FIVB World Ranking. Setter Fernando ‘Cachopa’ Kreling, opposite Darlan de Souza, outside hitter Ricardo Lucarelli and middle blocker Flavio Gualberto will be the pillars of the team in the Philippines.

Serbia

Serbia earned their spot at the World Championship via the FIVB World Ranking, being one of 15 national teams to qualify this way. They accumulated four appearances between 1956 and 1970 as part of Yugoslavia and competed in the last seven editions, starting in 1998, as an independent country, taking silver in that tournament and bronze in 2010.

The Europeans are in 12^th place in the FIVB World Ranking right now and have been working under Romanian head coach Gheorghe Crețu since the start of the season. Setter Nikola Jovović, opposite Dražen Luburić and outside hitters Marko Ivović and Pavle Perić should form the core of the team at the World Championship.

Czechia

Czechia also used their FIVB World Ranking points to secure a spot at the World Championship this year. With that, they will return to the tournament for the first time since 2010 and make their 17^th appearance. The Czechs made it to the final in the first six editions of the World Championship, winning gold in 1956 and 1966 and taking silver in 1949, 1952, 1960 and 1962.

The Czechs are the 21^st-best national team in the planet according to the FIVB World Ranking and have former player Jiří Novák as their head coach since 2020. Opposite Marek Šotola, outside hitter Lukáš Vašina, middle blocker Josef Polák and libero Michael Kovařík should be among their starters in the tournament.

China

As one of the 15 top-ranked national teams not qualified via the continental pathway, China earned their spot at the World Championship via the FIVB World Ranking. The Asians have been a constant presence in the tournament over the last many decades, having made their debut in 1956 and appeared in 15 editions since then, including the last eight. The Chinese were seventh in back-to-back editions in 1978 and 1982.

Having Belgian head coach Vital Heynen at the helm since last year, China currently occupy the 26^th place in the FIVB World Ranking. Absent from the Volleyball Nations League due to an injury, outside hitter Jingyin Zhang could return for the World Championship and join setter Yaochen Yu, middle blocker Yongzhen Li and opposite Chuan Jiang in leading the team in the Philippines.

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