Poland (POL) vs. Brazil (BRA) men - Quarterfinals #17146732

Setter Fernando ‘Cachopa’ Kreling and middle blocker Flavio Gualberto are key players in the new Brazilian team

Volleyball giants Brazil and the United States, who combined have six Olympic and four world titles, will be the main attractions of the Volleyball Nations League 2025 men's opening week in Rio de Janeiro, playing in the host city of the 2016 Olympics from Wednesday to Sunday.

Joining Brazilians and Americans at the iconic Maracanãzinho stadium for the next five days will be the national teams of Cuba, Iran, Slovenia and Ukraine.

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The 2021 VNL champions, Brazil start their campaign in the seventh edition of the tournament at home, hoping to return to the podium after four years. The 2025 season will, however, be a challenging one for the South Americans, who saw longtime national team players Bruno Rezende, Lucas Saatkamp, Yoandy Leal and Thales Hoss step away after last year’s Paris Olympics.

Head coach Bernardo Rezende has brought new faces into the squad in 2025 and will pick from them to form the core of the team going forward alongside setter Fernardo ‘Cachopa’ Kreling, opposite Darlan Souza, outside hitter Ricardo Lucarelli (who’s out this week as he recovers from a shoulder injury) and middle blocker Flavio Gualberto.

“It’s the start of a new dream for us, and to get to do it at home is extremely important,” Flavio, who will captain Brazil this week in Rio, said. “We’re building a new team, and to start this process in front of our fans is very positive. We know the Maracanãzinho will be packed every day, and it’s going to be a great experience for us.”

The Brazilians expect to have their home fans behind them in their first match, against Iran, on Wednesday, at 17:30 local time (20:30 GMT), and also in their following duels, against Cuba, on Thursday, Ukraine, on Saturday, and Slovenia, on Sunday.

Kiraly makes his debut with USA men

The United States will field an even younger team than Brazil in the first week of the VNL but all eyes will be on the team’s bench as the legendary Karch Kiraly, who during his playing career helped the Americans win two Olympic and one world titles, is set to make his debut as their new head coach after having 12 successful years with the country’s women’s national team.

In Rio, Kiraly will have only one player who was part of the American squad that won bronze at last year’s Paris Olympics – middle blocker Jeff Jendryk. Other players with relative international experience set to play at the Maracanãzinho include opposite Gabi Garcia and libero Kyle Dagostino.

“Karch has been very receptive to feedback from all of us,” Dagostino revealed. “As he’s transitioning back into the men’s game, he’s learning very quickly, and he’s using some of the older guys in the team as tools for him to learn about our team. It feels like a collaborative effort with him, and we really appreciate that. With a younger team, we understand that we have to show up every day and give our best because this is an unforgiving tournament. There are a lot of talented players in the world, and we need to make sure that we are doing what we need to do on our side of the net to give us the best chance possible to win.”

Italy (ITA) vs. USA (USA) women - Quarterfinals #16953434

Kiraly coached the American women's team between 2012 and 2024

The Americans will play in the first match in Rio, scheduled for Wednesday, at 14:00 local time (17:00 GMT), against Ukraine. The Paris Olympic bronze medalists will play Iran on Thursday, Slovenia on Saturday and Cuba on Sunday.

The third national team set to play in Rio that was in Paris last year, Slovenia have a new coach in Fabio Soli. In his first matches at the helm, the Italian will have ten Olympians in the squad – setters Dejan Vinčič and Uroš Planinšič, opposites Tonček Štern and Nik Mujanović, outside hitters Tine Urnaut, Rok Možič and Žiga Štern, middle blockers Jan Kozamernik and Sašo Štalekar and libero Jani Kovačič.

“The atmosphere in the team is great and we’ve been working a lot,” Urnaut said. “We have a new playing system which is very different from the previous one, so it could take some time for us to adjust. It’s important that we focus and ourselves and try to play better every day.”

Cuba took most of their stars to Brazil as they hope to start the VNL on the right foot and upset the favorites. Representing the team at the Maracanãzinho will be setter Christian Thondike, middle blocker Javier Concepción and outside hitters Marlon Yant and Miguel Ángel López.

Now working under the guidance of Roberto Piazza, Iran will have setter Javad Karimi, opposite Amin Esmaeilnezhad and outside hitters Amirhossein Esfandiar and Morteza Sharifi as their key players this week in Rio.

Ukraine, who will make their VNL debut this week, have middle blockers Maksym Drozd and Yuriy Semenyuk, opposite Vasyl Tupchii and outside hitter Yevhenii Kisiliuk as the most experienced players in the squad selected by head coach Raúl Lozano.

Presenting a new format in 2025, the VNL will feature 18 national teams. In each of the three weeks of the Preliminary Phase, they will be split into three pools of six and will play four matches each. At the end of the Preliminary Phase, the seven best-ranked teams and hosts China will secure a spot in the Finals, which are going to be held in Ningbo from July 30 to August 3.

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

The VNL 2025 opening week for the men has two other pools, with hosts China, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Serbia and Türkiye playing in Xi’an and hosts Canada, Argentina, Bulgaria, France, Germany and Italy competing in Quebec.

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