Paris Olympic medalists to meet in Rio in the VNL opening week

The three national teams that stepped on the podium at the Paris Olympics last year, Italy, the United States and Brazil will all be in Rio de Janeiro for the opening week of the Volleyball Nations League 2025, promising to deliver exciting and competitive matches right from the start of the tournament.

Besides the three Olympic medalists, VNL debutants Czechia, Asian force Korea and European up-and-comers Germany will be in action at the iconic Maracanãzinho stadium from Wednesday to Sunday in Pool 2.

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Reigning VNL champions Italy enter the season looking to build on their incredibly successful 2024 year. Head coach Julio Velasco will try to have some continuity in his work, having included ten of the 13 players that gave the country their first Olympic gold medals last year in Paris in his VNL squad, including star opposite Paola Egonu, legendary libero Monica De Gennaro, setter Alessia Orro and team captain and middle blocker Anna Danesi - they will all be in Rio this week.

"We know that what we did last year was very special, but we also got to play really good volleyball," Danesi said. "The expectations from our side are that we're able to play at that level again. We want to start doing this in the VNL as we're going to play the best teams in the world. We've been training together for just one week, so there's a lot we need to fix."

The Italians will have a challenging debut, facing the United States in a rematch of the Paris gold medal match on Wednesday, at 14:00 local time (17:00 GT), and will follow with duels against Germany on Thursday, Korea on Friday and Brazil on Sunday.

Americans have a new coach

The United States, on the other hand, will look very different than the team that took silver last year in Paris. The Americans have a new coach in Erik Sullivan, who replaced Karch Kiraly after he moved to the country’s men’s team, and will only have four players with VNL experience in the squad that’s going to play in Brazil – outside hitters Madisen Skinner and Veronica Jones-Perry and liberos Morgan Hentz and Zoe Jarvis.

"It's been really fun getting to know the new coaching staff," Jones-Perry remarked. "They bring a great energy to the gym, and everything has been very collaborative. We can feel that they believe in our group and everyone is working hard and getting better every day."

After the debut against the Italians on Wednesday, the Americans will battle Brazil on the next day, Korea on Friday and Korea on Sunday.

Paris bronze medalists Brazil are bringing back eight of the 13 players who were part of last year’s roster for the VNL 2025. Longtime head coach José ‘Zé Roberto’ Guimarães won’t have team captain and star outside hitter Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimarães this week in Rio, but he’ll have some Olympic medalists available for selection, such as setter Roberta Ratzke, opposite Rosamaria Montibeller and outside hitter Ana Cristina Souza.

"We're trying to be ready for everything," setter Macris Carneiro highlighted. "We'll try to do our best in every match and we're prepared to do it. We want to bring our energy to the court. Playing at home is very important. The fans will bring a lot of energy, and we'll use it to help us get to our best level."

Brazil will start their campaign against Czechia on Wednesday at 17:30 local time (19:30 GMT) and will return to the court the next day to face the United States. After a day off, the hosts will meet Germany on Saturday before ending the week against the Italians on Sunday.

After finishing 13^th last season, Germany rely on new coach Giulio Bregoli, setter Pia Kästner, outside hitter Lena Stigrot and libero Anna Pogany to get a better result this year, starting this week in Rio.

The Koreans, who got a pair of wins in the VNL in 2024 after 30-straight losses in the tournament, hope to continue displaying progress as head coach Fernando Morales starts his second year of work with the team.

Finally, VNL debutants Czechia start their first appearance in the tournament determined to make a strong impression. With Greek Giannis Athanasopoulos at the helm, they have players with experience in some of the best club leagues in the world, such as outside hitter Helena Grozer and Gabriela Orvošová.

VNL 2025 - Match Schedule

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 Poland will secure a spot in the Finals, which are going to be held in Łódź from July 23-27.

In the first week, Beijing and Ottawa will be the other cities hosting pools. While China, Belgium, France, Poland, Thailand and Türkiye will compete in the Chinese capital, Canada, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, Japan, the Netherlands and Serbia will be in action in the Canadian city.

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