The eighthfinal clash between North American neighbors USA and Canada will get underway at 17:00 local time (10:00 UTC) in the Thai capital.
The last time these two teams met was earlier this season, in the Volleyball Nations League. In a game played in Arlington, they put together a nail-biting battle, resolved only in the overtime of the tie-breaker the way of the American hosts. USA have heavily dominated the head-to-head series with Canada. The last time the northerners managed to beat their opponent was back in 2021, in a NORCEA Championship fixture, and that was also after a five-set drama.
The United States have medaled three times at the World Championships. After their bronze in 1990 and silver in 2002, they finally triumphed with the title in 2014. At the last edition in 2022, they finished in fourth place. Currently, they are the number six team in the FIVB World Ranking, rising to that position after China’s sharp drop with Sunday’s unexpected eighthfinal loss to France. USA qualified for these eighthfinals as the undefeated leader of Pool D. In the first stage of the World Championship, they achieved four-set wins over Slovenia and Argentina and swept their last match against Czechia in straight sets. Avery Skinner was their best scorer in the pool with 43 points across the three matches played.
Canada’s best result at the World Championships was the 10th place they took at the last edition of the tournament in 2022. Now they are ranked 12th in the world. In the first phase of the current edition, the Canadians finished Pool E runners-up after a four-set win over Bulgaria, a five-set win over Spain and a straight-set loss to Turkiye in the deciding match for the first place in the pool. With 46 points to her name, outside Andrea Mitrovic was their most prolific scorer so far.
