Women’s World Championship Pool Previews: Pool A

The most prestigious event in the international volleyball calendar in the 2025 season, the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship is set to enter a new era later this week, when the 20^th edition of the tournament starts in Thailand.

This year’s tournament, which will be held across four cities – Bangkok, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phuket and Chiang Mai - from August 22 to September 7, will go down as the first in the new format, which will see the world title put in dispute every two years.

• Watch the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship 2025 live on VBTV

The event will also be the first to have an expanded field of 32 national teams, allowing more countries to participate in the sport’s main event and generating more opportunities for them to continue their development.

The 32 national teams were split into eight pools of four and will face each of their three opponents during pool play. The top two national teams in each pool will advance to the elimination rounds, which will feature the Round of 16, the quarterfinals, the semifinals and the medal matches.

Pool play will have as many as 48 matches held in the four host cities between August 22 and 27. For the elimination rounds, the competition moves entirely to Bangkok, which will host the Round of 16 from August 29 to September 1, the quarterfinals on September 3-4, the semifinals on September 6 and the medal matches on September 7.

It will be a historic edition of the World Championship and in the days leading up to the start of the tournament, we’ll preview each of the eight pools, giving you all the information you need to tune in on VBTV and enjoy the matches.

Pool A

Host City: Bangkok

Match Schedule

August 22 – The Netherlands vs. Sweden – 17:00 local time (10:00 GMT)
August 22 – Thailand vs. Egypt – 20:30 local time (13:30 GMT)
August 24 – The Netherlands vs. Egypt – 17:00 local time (10:00 GMT)
August 24 – Thailand vs. Sweden – 20:30 local time (13:30 GMT)
August 26 – Sweden vs. Egypt – 17:00 local time (10:00 GMT)
August 26 – Thailand vs. The Netherlands – 20:30 local time (13:30 GMT)

Thailand

Thailand earned their spot in the World Championship as the host country. The Asians took part in the event for the first time in 1998 and missed it only once since then, sitting out of the 2006 edition. In their first six appearances, the Thais finished 13^th four times (1998, 2010, 2018 and 2022), having those as their best results in the event.

The reigning Asian champions, Thailand are currently in 21^st place in the FIVB World Rankings. The team coached by Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai will be led by a group of experienced players, which includes setter Pornpun Guedpard, opposite Pimpichaya Kokram, team captain and outside hitter Ajcharaporn Kongyot, middle blocker Thatdao Nuekjang and libero Piyanut Pannoy, and will count on the support of their always-energetic home fans to break pool and aim for their best campaign ever.

The Netherlands

The Netherlands booked their ticket to Thailand after they took bronze in the 2023 European Championship, claiming one of the three spots reserved for the continent. The Dutch have a long tradition at the World Championship, having first participated in the second edition, back in 1956, and have accumulated 15 appearances, having last missed it in 1986. The Europeans are yet to win their first medal in the tournament, but got very close in 2018, when they finished fourth.

Currently appearing in eighth place in the FIVB World Rankings, the Dutch will have two players who were part of the team that appeared in the semifinals in Japan seven years ago in their roster in Thailand – setter Britt Bongaerts and outside hitter Marrit Jasper. Other key pieces in the squad led by German head coach Felix Koslowski are outside hitter and team captain Nika Daalderop, opposite Elles Dambrink and middle blocker Eline Timmerman.

Sweden

One of the 15 national teams that qualified for the 2025 World Championship via the FIVB World Ranking, Sweden are set to make their debut in the tournament in a few days. The country has been steadily improving its position at both the international and the continental levels, having played in the FIVB Challenger Cup in 2023 and 2024 and won silver and gold in the European Golden League in those same years.

The Swedish rise, which took them to 26th place in the FIVB World Ranking, was facilitated by the presence of star opposite Isabelle Haak, one of the top players in the world right now, in the country’s national team. She will have a major influence on the performance of the team led by Italian head coach Lorenzo Micelli in Thailand alongside her older sister Anna and fellow outside hitter Alexandra Lazić, who are also key pieces in the team.

Egypt

Egypt’s second-place finish at the 2023 African Championship earned the team a spot at this year’s World Championship. It will be their fourth appearance in the tournament and their first since 2006. They were 16^th in 1990, 22^nd in 2002 and 21^st in 2006.

Coming up in 51^st place in the FIVB World Rankings, the Africans will be led by Emad Nawar in this year’s tournament. Libero Nada Walid, setter Dana Shawky and outside hitters Nada Meawad, who’s the team captain and represented the country at the Rio 2016 Olympics in beach volleyball, and Ayah Elnady form the core of the Egyptian team.

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