Dominant Italy and Poland sweep Belgium and Türkiye to reach 2025 World Championship semifinals!

Article in collaboration Ivan and Danijel, both in The Philippines ©️Volleytimes.com

After an exciting Round of 16 games, 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship continues today with first quarterfinals, both ended in straight sets.
In Pasay city, Italy gave to Belgium a volleyball lesson sweeping them with a clean 3-0 (25:13, 25:18, 25:18) to secure a place in the semifinals.
With this victory, the defending champions celebrated their seventh appearance among the world’s top four.
Today, from the opening serve, they displayed great composure, focus, and consistency, with head Coach Ferdinando De Giorgi fielded his usual lineup—Giannelli-Romanò on the diagonal, Michieletto and Bottolo as outside hitters, Russo and Gargiulo at the center, and Balaso libero, while Belgium responded with D’Hulst, Reggers, Deroo, Desmet, Coolman, Fafchamps, and Lantsoght.
The first set was one-sided, with Italy racing to a 12-point gap with the signature of Roberto Russo’s block.
The second followed the same rhythm, with the favorites dominating through serving and defense. Belgium showed more fight in the third, fighting until 10-10, but Michieletto’s serving streak and Russo’s late aces pushed Italy over the finish line.
Alessandro Michieletto led the charge with 13 points, while Roberto Russo and Mattia Bottolo added 11 each.
Ferre Reggers topped all scores on the other side of the net with 14 points, while Sam Deroo added 11, but they weren’t enough against a rival who dominated in all elements: 8 aces
to 1, 6 blocks to 1 and 10 errors to 26.

Head coach Ferdinando De Giorgi praised the team’s discipline:
“We served at a very high level, defended well, and stayed focused under pressure. This group is growing every match,” he said after the game.

“We stayed composed even when leading. After the earlier defeat to Belgium, this win shows how much we’ve grown,” added star setter Simone Giannelli.

Italy will face Poland, who continued their impressive run at the competion, powering past Turkiye 3-0 (25:15, 25:22, 25:19), on Saturday, September 27, in the semifinal as they continue their quest to defend their world title.
The reigning European champions, from the very start of the game, imposed their rhythm close the clash without major problems.
Wilfredo Leon (including 3 blocks and 1 ace) and Jakub Kochanowski led the charge with 13 points apiece, while veteran Bartosz Kurek also reached a double digit contributing with 10 points through 60% in attack.
Adis Lagumdzija scored 12 points on the other side of the net.
The numbers told the story of Poland’s dominance: 40-32 in attack points, 6-1 aces, and 7-2 winning blocks.

“You don’t win a quarterfinal 3-0 every day. We brought energy and focus, and I’m proud of the team. Playing Italy is always special – we’ll do our best to make it an amazing game for all the fans,” said Leon after the game.

Turkiye struggled to compete against Poland’s intensity despite moments of resistance.
“We wanted to play much better today. Poland were the better team. Still, this tournament has taught us important lessons for the future,” said their top scorer Adis Lagumdzija.

__________

🌏| 2025 FIVB World Championship | Quarterfinals

👉🏼Wednesday September 24, 2025 📍 Pasay City

• 15.30 (Local Time) | Italy – Belgium 3-0 (25:13, 25:18, 25:18)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Türkiye 3-0 (25:15, 25:22, 25:19)

Thursday September 25, 2025 📍 Pasay City

• 15.30 (Local Time) | Czech Republic – Iran 3-1 (22:25, 27:25, 25:20, 25:21)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | USA – Bulgaria 2-3 (25:21, 25:19, 17:25, 22:25, 13:15)

__________________

👀|QUICK LINKS
• All International news 🗞️
• FIVB World Championship 2025: Calendar
• FIVB World Championship 2025: All News
• Multimedia
• Facebook
• Instagram

__________________