Women’s World Championship Pool Previews: Pool F

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 20th 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 F

Host City: Chiang Mai

Match Schedule

August 23 – Dominican Republic vs. Colombia – 16:00 local time (9:00 GMT)
August 23 – China vs. Mexico – 19:30 local time (12:30 GMT)
August 25 – Dominican Republic vs. Mexico – 16:00 local time (9:00 GMT)
August 25 – China vs. Colombia – 19:30 local time (12:30 GMT)
August 27 – Colombia vs. Mexico – 16:00 local time (9:00 GMT)
August 27 – China vs. Dominican Republic – 19:30 local time (12:30 GMT)

China

China’s victory at the 2023 Asian Championship earned the country an automatic spot in the 2025 World Championship. The Chinese first competed in the tournament in 1956 and made 15 appearances so far, taking home six medals – gold in 1982 and 1986, silver in 1990, 1998 and 2014 and bronze in 2018.

The Asians are fourth in the FIVB World Ranking. First-year head coach Zhao Yong will be able to count on star outside hitter Li Yingying and middle blocker Gao Yi in Thailand. The two missed the Volleyball Nations League 2025 and will now join some of the team’s young standouts in the tournament, such as setter Zhang Zixuan and outside hitters Wu Mengjie and Zhuang Yushan, as well as team captain and opposite Gong Xiangyu.

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic also took the continental pathway to qualify for the World Championship, winning gold at the 2023 NORCECA Championship. The Queens of the Caribbean first appeared in the tournament in 1974 and returned in 1998 after a 20-year absence to accumulate nine participations. They made it to the quarterfinals in 2014, when they ranked fifth and had their best result in the tournament.

The Dominicans are currently in the top ten of the FIVB World Ranking, appearing in tenth place. Longtime head coach Marcos Kwiek won’t be able to count on veteran setter and team captain Niverka Marte in the tournament as she’s about to become a mother, but star libero Brenda Castillo, high-scoring opposite Gaila González and the Martínez sisters Brayelin (outside hitter) and Jineiry (middle blocker) will all be on the court.

Colombia

Colombia’s third-place finish at the 2023 South American Championship earned the country a spot at the World Championship as they were awarded one of the three spots reserved for the continent in the event. It will mark just the second time the Colombians get to take part in the tournament, following a 21^st-place finish in their debut, in 2022.

Having a new coach in 2025 in Brazilian Guilherme Schmitz, the South Americans are currently the 19^th-best national team on the planet according to the FIVB World Ranking. Some of their players to watch in Thailand are setter María Alejandra Marín, opposite Dayana Segovia, outside hitters Ana Karina Olaya and Amanda Coneo and libero Camila Gómez.

Mexico

Mexico were one of the 15 national teams that qualified for the World Championship via the FIVB World Ranking. Before 2025, the Mexicans made eight appearances in the tournament, the first of which back in 1970, and had their most prolific campaign in 1974, when they secured a tenth-place finish.

Mexico are ranked 24^th in the FIVB World Ranking and have, since 2023, Italian Nicola Negro as their head coach. Back with the national team for the first time since 2023, outside hitter Samantha Bricio is the main star of the team, which also counts on setter Argentina Ung, outside hitter Melanie Parra and middle blockers Jocelyn Urias and Karina Flores as players with solid international experience.

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