VNL 2026

VNL 2026 bursts into action across China, Canada and Brazil

Poland and Belgium to get the action started in Nanjing on Wednesday

Published 01:31, 02 Jun 2026

Belgium (BEL) vs. Poland (POL) women - Pool 3 - Preliminary Phase #46592841

Poland against Belgium in China during last year’s opening VNL week

Nanjing in China is where the women’s Volleyball Nations League 2026 will serve off just hours from now, on Wednesday morning. Quebec City in China and Brasilia in Brazil are the other two venues set to welcome the matches of the first competition week in VNL 2026.

Watch the Volleyball Nations League 2026 on VBTV

Just like last year, this year’s VNL Preliminary Phase will feature three competition weeks, with each team playing a total of 12 matches (four per week). Each week, the 18 participating teams are divided into three pools of six, playing at three different venues. Each pool’s match schedule features three games on Wednesday, two each on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and another three on Sunday. The seven best-ranked national teams in the Preliminary Phase will qualify for the Finals, joining the host team.

Nanjing pool gets the action underway

During the first competition week, Nanjing hosts the teams of Belgium, China, Czechia, Poland, Serbia and Thailand.

The bronze medalists of the last three editions Poland will take on fellow Europeans Belgium in the season opener, serving off at 11:30 local time (03:30 UTC). The first competition day will also offer encounters between Thailand and Serbia at 15:00 (07:00), and between China and Czechia at 19:30 (11:30).

One of the most anticipated fixtures in Nanjing this week is the all-Asian clash between Thailand and hosts China. It will be played on Thursday at 19:30 (11:30). Mighty China, a three-time VNL medalist, failed to make the podiums in 2024 and 2025, and will be eager to launch a more successful 2026 campaign in front of the Chinese fans.

A big duel between the number four and the number six teams in the FIVB Volleyball World Ranking – Poland and China, respectively – will close the week in Nanjing on Sunday at 19:00 (11:00).

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Quebec City program highlighted by North American derby

The pool in Quebec City, featuring Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Ukraine and USA, will be the second one to get going on Wednesday.

In the first match, serving off at 11:00 local time (15:00 UTC), three-time VNL champions USA will take on VNL rookies Ukraine, for whom it will be a historic first appearance in the competition. The United States triumphed in the first three editions of the Volleyball Nations League – 2018, 2019 and 2021 – but have not made the podium ever since.

Wednesday’s program in Quebec City will also offer a match between France and Japan at 16:30 (20:30) and a match between hosts Canada and Germany at 20:00 (00:00 on Thursday).

The Canadian crowd in Quebec City will be particularly eager to see the home favorites face neighbors USA in a North American derby on Thursday at 20:00 (00:00 on Friday) and close the week against the pool’s highest ranked team, the world’s number five Japan, on Sunday at 18:00 (22:00). Japan are one of the few teams that have managed to earn medals in the history of the women’s VNL. Two years ago, they finished runners-up and took silver.

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World’s numbers one, two and three get together in Brasilia

The current top three teams in the World Ranking – Italy, Brazil and Turkiye – will all compete in Brasilia during this year’s opening VNL week. They will be in the company of Bulgaria, the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands.

2023 VNL champions Turkiye will try to take a positive start to their quest for a fourth VNL podium, meeting the Dominican Republic in the opening game of the event in the Brazilian capital, serving off at 13:00 local time (16:00 UTC) on Wednesday.

Reigning world and Olympic champions and defending VNL crown-bearers Italy will get their season underway with a match against Bulgaria at 16:30 (19:00), while hosts Brazil – last year’s runners-up and four-time VNL silver medalists – will entertain the Netherlands at 20:00 (23:00).

The remainder of the week in Brasilia will, of course, be highlighted by the titanic duels between Italy and Turkiye on Saturday at 15:30 (18:30), and between Brazil and Italy on Sunday at 14:30 (17:30), set to spark true volleyball fever among the fans.