Big matches in Anaheim to shape VNL 2023 Finals

The last week of the Preliminary Phase of the men’s Volleyball Nations League 2023 will bring several interesting battles as national teams look to either secure a spot in the Finals or remain in the tournament in 2024.

Outside of Poland, who are guaranteed in the VNL 2023 Finals as the host country, all other 15 national teams will have something to fight for as the matches take place in Anaheim, USA, and Pasay City, the Philippines.

• Watch Volleyball Nations League 2023 live on VBTV

Besides hosts the United States, will also be competing in Anaheim this week the national teams of Argentina, Bulgaria, Cuba, France, Germany, Iran and Serbia.

The first day of action in California will involve four teams ranked between 6^th and 11^th places, which are heavily involved in the fight for the eight spots in play in the VNL Finals. The opening match in Anaheim will have sixth-placed Argentina (five wins, 16 points) playing ninth-placed Serbia (four wins, 11 points) at 13:00 local time (20:00 UTC).

The second match of the day, set to start at 16:30 local time (23:30 UTC), will be basically a win-or-go-home encounter for Iran and France. While the Asians are currently 11^th with just two wins (eight points), the defending champions are right above them in ninth, with three victories (nine points).

On Wednesday, at 17:00 local time (00:00 UTC, Thursday) Bulgaria will have a good opportunity to get their second win in the VNL 2023 and move up from their current dangerous 15^th place (one win, six points) as they face Germany, the only other team to have only one victory after eight matches – the Germans are 16^th with four points but are guaranteed in the VNL 2024 as a core team.

Currently in ninth place, Serbia will push for a win against 12^th-placed Cuba (two wins, five points) to try to enter the qualification zone for the VNL Finals. Europeans and the Caribbean will battle at 17:00 local time (00:00 UTC, Friday).

The Serbians will have another critical match on Friday, at 13:30 local time (20:30 UTC), when they face Olympic champions France. The teams entered the week separated by just one win and two points and this match could have a huge impact on their hopes of remaining in contention for the title.

Volleyball Nations League 2023: full schedule and results

Saturday’s last match, set to start at 20:30 local time (03:30 UTC, Sunday), will be one of the most-anticipated of the week with hosts USA playing defending champions France. It’s likely that the Americans will be already guaranteed in the Finals regardless of the outcome of this encounter, but they will be pushing for a better seeding ahead of the quarterfinals and also determined to please their home fans with a strong performance.

Sunday will be the day when all pieces will fall into place and two teams that are threatened by relegation will be in action, with Cuba facing Iran at 13:30 local time (20:30 UTC) and Bulgaria meeting the United States at 20:30 local time (03:30 UTC, Monday).

The third and last week of the VNL 2023 Preliminary Phase will also have matches in Pasay City, the Philippines, with Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovenia set to play.

The VNL Preliminary Phase features three weeks of competition, with each of the 16 teams playing 12 matches. The eight best-ranked national teams in the Preliminary Phase will qualify for the Final Phase, which will be held in Gdansk, Poland, from July 19-23 – host country Poland are already guaranteed a spot.