The weekend is here and the moment we will all know the 2025 women’s volleyball world champions is fast approaching! But first things first, the semifinals of 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship are on Saturday’s program in Thailand, and by the end of the day, we will know which two teams will battle for gold on Sunday, having already secured their spots on the podium. In the first semifinal, Japan will take on Turkiye. In the second, the top two teams in the FIVB World Ranking, Italy and Brazil, will lock horns with one another.
Women's World Championship 2025
Day 13: Semifinals on! Serve-off at 15:30 Thailand time!
Japan against Turkiye and Italy against Brazil on Saturday’s program
Published 12:05, 06 Sept 2025
Italy against Brazil in the VNL 2025 final in Poland
- Watch the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship on VBTV
Semifinal 1: Japan v Turkiye
The competition day in Bangkok starts early on Saturday. The first of two semifinals, featuring the teams of Japan and Turkiye, will get underway at 15:30 local time (08:30 UTC).
The three most recent Volleyball Nations League encounters between Japan and Turkiye, in 2023, 2024 and 2025, were all pushed to five sets and resolved Japan’s way in the tie-breakers. Earlier this summer, they met in the VNL quarterfinals in Lodz. Turkiye came back from a set down twice during the match, but Japan stepped in front again to take the fifth set and the match. The two sides also met in a four-set Olympic qualification match in September 2023 and that was the last time the European team managed to beat its Asian rival.
Japan are one of the most decorated teams in the history of the women’s World Championships, crowned with three titles, three silver medals and a bronze, which was their most recent medal from 2010. In VNL 2025, they finished fourth and are now the number five team in the World Ranking. The Japanese team swept its Pool H opener against Cameroon, but had to battle back from two sets down to overcome Ukraine. In the first-place decider, Japan defeated defending two-time world champions Serbia in four sets. In their eighthfinal encounter with hosts Thailand, they produced a straight-set victory to progress to the quarterfinals, where they outlasted the Netherlands in a five-set battle, coming back from a set down twice in the match. Outside hitter and captain Mayu Ishikawa is Japan’s leading scorer of this World Championship with 99 points so far. She is the highest ranked player among the four semifinal teams in the best scorers chart and another four individual statistical charts – for best attackers, for best receivers, for best diggers and for best blockers.
Turkiye are the reigning European champions, but they have never made it to a World Championship podium. In fact, this is the first time in history they advanced to the semifinals. Their previous best result was the sixth place they took in 2010. Turkiye were the only team at Thailand 2025 that went through the pool stage and the eighthfinals without dropping a single set. In Pool E, they shut out Spain, Bulgaria and Canada to top the table, and in the first elimination round, they disposed of spirited rookies Slovenia, also in straight sets. Finally, in the quarterfinals, they lost a set to the United States, but still won in four to celebrate a historic success. That win over USA also lifted Turkiye up a spot to number four in the World Ranking, overtaking Japan. Turkiye’s star opposite Melissa Vargas is also a main contender for the best scorer honors of the World Championship, currently leading the team with a total of 91 points.
Semifinal 2: Italy v Brazil
The number one and the number two teams in the World Ranking – Italy and Brazil – will cross swords in the second semifinal in Bangkok. This titanic duel is set to serve off at 19:30 local time (12:30 UTC) on Saturday.
Most recently, the two powerhouses clashed in the VNL 2025 gold medal showdown on July 27 in Poland, where Italy lost the first set, but won the next three to triumph in the competition. Earlier, in the Preliminary Phase of the VNL, Italy shut out Brazil in front of their fans in Rio de Janeiro. The South American side won both their matches against the European team in the previous two seasons of the VNL, each after a five-set battle. They also met in the semifinals of the previous World Championship in 2022, with Brazil moving on to the final after a four-set win.
Italy are the reigning Olympic and VNL champions, as well as the number one team in the FIVB World Ranking. They triumphed as world champions back in 2002. The other two World Championship podiums they have achieved in history came at the two most recent editions of the competition – silver in 2018 and bronze in 2022. Italy have not lost an official game in well over 15 months now (since June 1, 2024) and the winning streak they are on already accounts for 34 consecutive official matches. In this week’s quarterfinals, they shut out the world’s number three team Poland. Last week, they swept their eighthfinal match against Germany in straight sets. Before that, Italy went through the first stage of this World Championship with straight-set wins over Slovakia and Cuba, and a four-set victory over Belgium to top the Pool B standings. Their star opposite Paola Egonu is third in the best scorers ranking and a solid candidate for the top spot in the chart at the end of the tournament. She is her team’s most prolific point-maker so far with a total of 96 points in the five matches played.
Mighty Brazil have never won the world title. Their World Championship medal count features four silvers, including one from the previous edition in 2022, and one bronze. The VNL 2025 silver medalists currently stand second in the World Ranking. The South American giants went through Pool C of the ongoing World Championship undefeated, with straight-set sweeps of Greece and Puerto Rico, and a five-set reverse sweep of France. In the eighthfinals, Brazil defeated the Dominican Republic in four sets, and in the quarterfinals, they survived a spirited France to defeat them in straight sets. Their scorers so far at the competition are led by iconic star outside hitter Gabriela Guimaraes (Gabi) with 78 points. Brazil’s two main middle blockers – Diana Alecrim and 22-year-old Julia Kudiess – jointly top the best blockers ranking of the competition, with 18 kill blocks apiece.
FIVB Women’s World Championship schedule for Saturday, September 6, 2025
15:30 local (08:30 UTC): Japan v Turkiye
19:30 local (12:30 UTC): Italy v Brazil
