VNL 2026

Turkiye and Ukraine book last VNL tickets to Ningbo Finals

Published 05:33, 20 Jul 2026

Türkiye (TUR) vs. Iran (IRI) - Pool 7 - Preliminary Phase #115516352

Turkiye’s Bedirhan Bulbul celebrates his team’s historic success after raising nine kill blocks against Iran

The Preliminary Phase of the men’s Volleyball Nations League is now over and all seven teams joining hosts China into the upcoming Finals in Ningbo are known. The last two vacancies in the quarterfinals were filled on Sunday, when Turkiye and Ukraine secured their spots alongside Japan, Poland, Slovenia, Italy, the United States and the home team. Both Turkiye and Ukraine will participate in the Finals for the first time in the history of the VNL.

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On the last competition day of the Preliminary Phase, Turkiye needed a win over Iran in Belgrade to qualify and got it. They came back from a set down to celebrate a 3-1 (17-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-19) victory and a historic success. The team from the Mediterranean finished sixth in the VNL Preliminary Phase standings on an 8-4 win-loss record and 22 points and advanced to the quarterfinals. Iran finished in 14^th place on 3-9 and 11. While middle blocker Bedirhan Bulbul shined in net defense with as many as nine stuffs towards a 13-point total, opposite Adis Lagumdzija contributed another three kill blocks towards a match-high 23 points. 21-year-old Iranian outside hitter Ali Haghparast impressed with four aces and two stuffs towards a team-high 20 points.

Next in the Serbian capital, Ukraine put together a 3-1 (25-23, 20-25, 25-22, 26-24) victory over Germany to stay in contention for the Finals, with a match-high 21 points from 18-year-old sub-in opposite Maksym Tonkonoh, including three blocks. Outside Tobias Brand (three aces) and opposite Yann Bohme scored a team-high 17 points each for Germany. Ukraine improved to 7-5 and 23, but had to wait for the outcome of Bulgaria’s game against France to find out whether they will be travelling to China. Later on, the Bulgarians lost to let Ukraine finish seventh and snatch the last available ticket to Ningbo. Germany finished in 12^th place on 5-7 and 15.

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Bulgaria missed a historic chance to make the VNL Finals for the first time. Any win over France in Chicago would have propelled them among the quarterfinalists. However, the reigning two-time back-to-back Olympic champions mastered a 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-21) sweep of their encounter with the youngest squad in VNL 2026, with 21-year-old outside Mathis Henno leading the way with three aces and a kill block towards a match-high 20 points. His 22-year-old Bulgarian counterpart Aleksandar Nikolov led his team with 16 points, all in swings. Bulgaria finished in eighth place on 7-5 and 20, while France took 10^th on 6-6 and 16.

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Japan topped the table undefeated on 12-0 and 30, following a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-16) shutout of Argentina in the last match on the Osaka program. Argentina ended up in 15^th place on 3-9 and 10. Outside hitter and captain Yuki Ishikawa emerged as the top scorer of the match with 21 points for the winners. Outsides Luciano Vicentin and Manuel Armoa produced a team-high 12 points each for Argentina.

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In the very last match of the Preliminary Phase, defending VNL champions Poland shut out USA in Chicago to finish runners-up on 10-2 and 29, leaving the Americans in fifth place on 8-4 and 25.

The third place went to Slovenia on 10-2 and 26. They finished their Preliminary Phase campaign with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-22) sweep of their game with hosts Serbia in Belgrade. 21-year-old opposite Nik Mujanovic topped the match chart with 17 points, while his counterpart Veljko Masulovic led Serbia with 15. Serbia occupied 11^th place on 5-7 and 16.

Reigning world champions Italy finished in fourth place on 8-4 and 26, after a 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-17) comeback victory over Cuba in Osaka on the last day, leaving the Caribbean squad third from the bottom, in 16^th place on 3-9 and 10. Italian opposite Yuri Romano was the best scorer of the match with 17 points, while outside Miguel Lopez was Cuba’s most prolific player with 11 points.

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Already out of contention for the Finals, Brazil hammered out a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-21) shutout of China in Chicago to finish in ninth place on 7-5 and 19. The hosts of the Finals trail bottom of the table, in 18^th place on 1-11 and 4. Outside Adriano Cavalcante aced three times towards a match-high 13 points for Brazil. Outside Wang Bin was China’s only player to reach the double digits, with 10 points.

VNL newcomers Belgium finished their rookie campaign on a high note, with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) sweep of their game against Canada in Osaka, rising to 13^th place on 4-8 and 12. The North Americans took 17^th place on 1-11 and 10. Belgian opposite Ferre Reggers fired 24 points to emerge as the top scorer of the match. His Canadian counterpart Xander Ketrzynski led his team with 13.