Women’s VNL 2026 set to peak with this week’s Finals in Macao

The women’s Volleyball Nations League 2026 is about to peak and come to its conclusion this week as the Finals take place from Wednesday to Sunday in Macao, China. Eight teams will enter the quarterfinals, three of them will get on the podium, but only one will triumph as the VNL 2026 champion in the end.

• Watch the Volleyball Nations League 2026 on VBTV

The first two of the four quarterfinals will take place on Wednesday, July 22. The next two – on the following day. The semifinals will be played on Saturday and the two medal matches – on Sunday.

Action serves off at 16:00 local time (08:00 UTC) on Wednesday with a game between Italy and the Netherlands.

The southern Europeans are the clear favorites to win this match. They are defending two-time back-to-back VNL champions, reigning Olympic and world champions and the number one team in the FIVB World Ranking, and are aiming at their fourth crown in the competition. Italy arrive at the Finals as the second-placed team in the final Preliminary Phase standings on a 10-2 win-loss record and 28 points, just one short of leaders USA.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, qualified for the VNL Finals for the first time in the history of the competition. They finished the Preliminary Phase in seventh place on 7-5 and 21, surpassing teams like Poland, bronze medalists of the previous three editions, and Finals hosts China, also three-time VNL medal winners. The western European side is currently number eight in the World Ranking.

Italy and the Netherlands have met 25 times at major world-level tournaments. Italy have won 15 of those matches, including the three most recent ones in straight sets – at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in VNL 2025 and in VNL 2026. The last time the western Europeans beat their southern European opponents was at the 2023 continental championship.

The second quarterfinal on Wednesday will feature the teams of Brazil and Japan. The match starts at 19:30 (11:30).

Brazil have already collected three VNL medals, all silver, including one in 2025. They are also bronze medalists of the last Olympic Games and the last World Championship, and are currently number two in the World Ranking. The South Americans finished this year’s Preliminary Phase in third place on 9-3 and 26.

Japan have one medal in their VNL collection, also silver. Last year, they made the semifinals and finished in fourth place. They also finished fourth at last year’s World Championship. The Asian team finished sixth in the VNL 2026 Preliminary Phase on 8-4 and 21, and is also sixth in the World Ranking.

This will be the 86^th encounter between Brazil and Japan at major world-level tournaments. Brazil won 69 of the previous head-to-head matches, including the most recent five. This year’s clash in the VNL also went Brazil’s way, after a four-set duel. Japan’s last win over Brazil dates back to VNL 2024, when the Asians beat the South Americans in a five-set semifinal.

Thursday’s quarterfinal program will open at 16:00 (08:00) with a duel between Turkiye and Canada.

Turkiye won the VNL in 2023. They also have one silver and one bronze in their VNL showcase. They are silver medalists of last year’s World Championship and semifinalists of the Paris 2024 Olympics, currently standing fourth in the World Ranking. The European team qualified for the Finals in Macao as the fourth-place holders in the Preliminary phase table, on 9-3 and 25.

Canada registered a historic achievement by progressing to the VNL Finals for the first time, after taking fifth place in the first stage of the tournament on 8-4 and 24, with their opposite Kiera Van Ryk emerging as the best scorer of the Preliminary Phase. In the World Ranking, Canada take 11^th place.

Turkiye swept the last four encounters with Canada in straight sets, most recently at the 2025 World Championship. Canada’s last and only win over Turkiye in the past 15 years was achieved in their VNL 2022 game.

The quarterfinal round will conclude with a match between USA and China, set to serve off at 19:30 (11:30) on Thursday.

The Americans topped the Preliminary Phase table on 10-2 and 29, and are aiming at their fourth VNL podium and first since 2021. All of USA’s previous three medals were gold, from the first three editions of the competition. At the last Olympic Games in Paris, they finished runners-up and took silver. Now, they are number three in the World Ranking.

China qualified for the Finals automatically as the host team. They took ninth place in the first stage on 6-6 and 19. The Asian team has picked up three VNL medals in history – two bronzes and, most recently, a silver in 2023. They are running seventh in the World Ranking.

The United States and China have previously met 80 times at major world-level competitions. China have won 45 of those matches, including the most recent four, three of them after five-set battles. USA’s last win over China occurred in VNL 2022.

VNL 2026 schedule and results
VNL 2026 ticket information

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