WCH 2025: Bulgaria sweep Portugal to claim a spot to Quarterfinals. USA down Slovenia in four sets

Article in collaboration Ivan and Danijel, both from Pasay City©️Volleytimes.com

After qualification of Türkiye, Poland, Italy and Belgium, Round of 16 of 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship now in Manila continues today with other two games.
Bulgaria claimed their ticket to quarterfinals with a commanding 3-0 sweep (25:19, 25:23, 25:13) over Portugal.
Aleksandar Nikolov was once again almost unstoppable, leaving the court with 19 points including 1 ace and 1 block through 55% in attack.
Portugal showed resilience, particularly in second set, but also from the serve line with six aces, three of them by Lourenco Martins, who also topped his team’s scoring with 10 points.
Bulgaria played without Ilya Petkov, who has felt ankle pain before the match, which has intensified after a service performance. But the good news is that, according to the medical staff, he should be ready for their next match.

Bulgaria now will face USA, who celebrated a 3-1 victory (19:25, 25:22, 25:17, 25:20) against Slovenia.
Gabi Garcia delivered a dominant 26-point performance including 4 blocks and as many as 7 aces and, with this win, Team USA (4-0) advances to Thursday’s quarterfinal clash against also unbeaten Bulgaria (4-0).
Slovenia, which had beaten the Americans earlier this year in the Volleyball Nations League, couldn’t compete against the rivals’s effective serving and blocking. The winners, in fact, made the difference with a commanding 12-2 edge in aces and a 10-7 winning blocks.
Ethan Champlin also contributed with 15 points, while Jordan Ewert added 14. Middle blockers Jeff Jendryk and Merrick McHenry tallied eight points each.

“We didn’t have everything going our way, but great teams find ways to win when it’s tough. I was impressed with how our guys kept pushing through,” said Head coach Karch Kiraly praising his squad’s resilience.

In last Round of 16 match-ups also in Manila, tomorrow Pool A leaders Tunisia will face Pool H runners-up Czech Republic, while the winners of Pool H Serbia will face second-placed in Pool A Iran.

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🌏| 2025 FIVB World Championship | Round of 16

Saturday September 20, 2025 📍 Pasay City

• 15.30 (Local Time) | Türkiye (B1) – Netherlands (G2) 3-1 (27:29, 25:23, 25:16, 25:19)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Poland (G1) – Canada (B2) 3-1 (25:18, 23:25, 25:20, 25:14)

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Sunday September 21, 2025 📍 Pasay City

• 15.30 (Local Time) | Argentina (C1) – Italy (F2) 0-3 (23:25, 20:25, 22:25)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Belgium (F1) – Finland (C2) 3-0 (25:21, 25:17, 25:21)

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👉🏼Monday September 22, 2025 📍 Pasay City

• 15.30 (Local Time) | Bulgaria (D1) – Portugal (E2) 3-0 (25:19, 25:23, 25:13)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | USA (E1) – Slovenia (D2) 3-1 (19:25, 25:22, 25:17, 25:20)

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Thursday September 23, 2025 📍 Pasay City

• 15.30 (Local Time) | Tunisia (A1) – Czech Republic (H2) 0-3 (19:25, 18:25, 23:25)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Serbia (H1) – Iran (A2) 2-3 (25:23, 19:25, 26:24, 22:25, 9:15)

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