VNL 2025

Men’s VNL 2025 set to get underway in Xi’an

Poland and Netherlands to get the action started on Wednesday

Published 12:18, 10 Jun 2025

Japan (JPN) vs. USA (USA) men - Pool 6 - Preliminary Phase #16995972

Japanese star opposite Kento Miyaura in VNL action

Just like the women’s competition last week, the men’s Volleyball Nations League this week is set to get underway in China. This time, Xi’an is the host city welcoming six of the world’s best men’s national teams for five days of top-caliber action in Pool 3 of the first competition week in the Preliminary Phase.

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A total of 12 matches will be played in Xi’an, with each of the six teams – China, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia and Turkiye – appearing in four of them. The daily programs for Wednesday and Sunday will feature three games each, while Thursday, Friday and Saturday will offer two matches a day.

The teams of Poland and the Netherlands will have the honor of competing in this season’s opening match, starting at 13:30 local time (05:30 UTC) on Wednesday. The Olympic silver medalists from Poland are returning to the city of Xi’an, where their quest to Paris 2024 started with the qualification tournament win back in 2023. Poland have medaled at every single VNL edition since 2019, topping the podium in 2023. Artur Szalpuk and Rafal Szymura are among the more experienced players coach Nikola Grbic has selected for the first VNL week in China. Meanwhile, the Netherlands will be looking to improve on the eighth place they got in 2022, their best VNL result so far.

“For us, this VNL will be something new, because we have a lot of new and young players. We have prepared well, so I am curious how they will perform in their first VNL. We play against four very good teams and I hope we will enjoy it.” Rafal Szymura, captain of Poland
“As in every post-Olympic year, there are a lot of changes in the teams and that applies to us as well. We did quite well and we were competitive in preparation, but being competitive is a whole different story from winning games. We are going to try our best and I hope we play some great games.” Wessel Keemink, captain of the Netherlands

A classic all-Asian derby between hosts China and Japan, starting at 17:00 (09:00) will be one of the highlights not only of the first competition day, but of the whole tournament. After a year’s absence, China return to the VNL as last year’s Volleyball Challenger Cup winners. Having earned bronze in 2023 and silver in 2024, Japan will try to keep that upward trend going, with fabulous star opposite Kento Miyaura spearheading the team during the first VNL week.

“I hope that the home crowd will give us the little extra we need to have some great matches. That’s what I want from the players. I don’t talk about winning or losing. I want great matches.” Vital Heynen, head coach of China
“We are here with a new team, but our goal always is to be on the podium. So we’ll try to be our best!” Shoma Tomita, captain of Japan

A clash between two southern European teams will close the first competition day in Xi’an. Serbia and Turkiye will take to the court at 20:30 (12:30). The Serbians have never made the VNL podium and their best result is the sixth place they took in 2021. They have many new players on their roster as well, but also some stellar presence in the likes of captain and outside hitter Marko Jovovic, setter Nikola Jovovic or opposite Drazen Luburic. The Turkish team made its VNL debut last year and finished bottom of the table with just one win on their record, but will return for their second appearance, hoping to capitalize on the experience gained.

“We also have many new players on the squad, so it’s not easy to charge them with big goals, but it’s in our character to always give our best and fight until the end.” Marko Ivovic, captain of Serbia
“Last year we learnt that we have to push more. It was a tough experience, but we are ready to compete again. We are here to show good performance from the first week.” Murat Yenipazar, captain of Turkiye

The VNL Preliminary Phase will feature three competition weeks, with each of the 18 teams playing a total of 12 matches. The eight best-ranked national teams in the Preliminary Phase will qualify for the Finals, which will be held in Ningbo, China from July 30 to August 3, with the host country already with a guaranteed spot.

Volleyball Nations League 2025: full schedule and results

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