VNL 2026: last week in Belgrade continues – Iran down Germany at tie break, first win for hosts Serbia in front of their home fans!

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Article wrote by Danijel from Belgrade for Volleytimes, please respect his job.

The third and last week of the Preliminary Phase of Volleyball Nations League 2026 starts today in three cities across the world – Osaka (Japan), Belgrade (Serbia) and Chicago (USA) – hosting a total of 36 matches, which will determine the final standings but also the top seven teams who will
play the quarterfinals in Ningbo together with hosts China.

Here in Serbia, the day started with a crucial tie break win of Iran over Germany, 3-2 (25:22, 26:28, 18:25, 25:20, 15:12).
With the win, the winners improve to 3-7, boosting their hopes of avoiding relegation, while Germany drops to 4-6 after a tough defeat.

In second and last game of the day, Ukraine suffered a 1-3 (25:22, 17:25, 21:25, 23:25) defeat to hosts Serbia bit, despite the loss, Raul Lozano’s team remains sixth in the provisional standings and continues to hold its fate in its own hands in the battle for a spot in the Final Eight.
The Ukrainians started the match in a perfect way, winning the first set. Dmytro Yanchuk scored two consecutive aces, and Vasyl Tupchil was also flawless in key moments for a well-deserved 25:22 victory.
After that, Serbia regrouped and applied strong pressure with their serve and block, convincingly won the second set with a clear 25:17, and in the third, they rejected Ukraine’s attempts to come back and closed it at 25:21.
The fourth set was a battle.
Ukraine took a four-points lead in the middle of the set and seemed close to force the match into a tie-break. However, Serbia reacted again and, in a tense finish, a block on Tupchii brought match point, which the hosts converted for the final 25:23.
A crucial clash against Turkey awaits Ukraine already tomorrow.

IN PROGRESS

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🏐| FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2026 | Games of the day

— Thursday | July 16, 2026—

| Pool 9 – Week 3 – Osaka 🇯🇵
• 15.30 (Local Time) | Belgium – Italy 0-3 (20:25, 22:25, 22:25)
• 19.20 (Local Time) | Japan – Canada 3-2 (18:25, 24:26, 29:27, 25:19, 15:11)

👉🏼 Pool 7 – Week 3 – Belgrade 🇷🇸
• 16.30 (Local Time) | Iran – Germany 3-2 (25:22, 26:28, 18:25, 25:20, 15:12)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Serbia – Ukraine 3-1 (22:25, 25:17, 25:21, 25:23)

| Pool 8 – Week 3 – Chicago 🇺🇸
• 16.00 (Local Time) | China – France
• 20.00 (Local Time) | USA – Brazil

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🏐| STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Japan 24
2. USA 22
3. Poland 20
4. Italy 20
5. Ukraine 19
6. Slovenia 17
7. Türkiye 17
8. Brazil 16
9. Serbia 15
10. Bulgaria 14
11. France 13
12. Germany 13
13. Iran 11
14. Canada 10
15. Argentina 9
16. Belgium 9
17. Cuba 5
18. China 4

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🏐| NEXT GAMES

— Friday | July 17, 2026—

| Pool 9 – Week 3 – Osaka 🇯🇵
• 13.00 (Local Time) | Cuba – Argentina
• 19.20 (Local Time) | Japan – Belgium

| Pool 7 – Week 3 – Belgrade 🇷🇸
• 16.30 (Local Time) | Türkiye – Ukraine
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Iran – Slovenia

| Pool 8 – Week 3 – Chicago 🇺🇸
• 16.00 (Local Time) | China – Bulgaria
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Brazil – Poland

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