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Article wrote by Danilo from Osaka for Volleytimes, please respect his job.
The third (and last) competition week of the Preliminary Phase in the Volleyball Nations League 2026 starts today with three cities across the world β Osaka in Japan, Belgrade in Serbia and Chicago in the United States β hosting a total of 36 matches, which will finalize the standings as well as the top seven teams to the quarterfinals in Ningbo along with hosts China, and now also USA and Japan.
Live from Osaka, Cuba clinches a crucial win for survival, edging out Argentina in a thrilling five-set battle to secure its second consecutive victory, improving to 2-8 and taking a huge step toward avoiding relegation: 17:25, 25:19, 22:25, 25:21, 15:12.
Meanwhile, Argentina drops to 3-7 and is officially on thin ice.
Marlon Yant was the man of the match with 28 points to his name including 4 blocks and 3 aces.
Undefeated and unstoppable: Japan is 11-0!
Japan has just put on an absolute masterclass, defeating Belgium in straight sets: 25:20, 25:22, 25:16, to keep their flawless record alive!
With this dominant victory, they has officially secured the top seed heading into the VNL Finals, setting up a Quarterfinal clash against host nation China.
And they are now just one single win away from completing a historic, perfect sweep of the preliminary round!
On the other side of the net, Belgium drops to a tough 3-8 record and remains in serious danger of relegation threat.
Can anyone stop this relentless Japanese squad, or are they cruising all the way to the gold?
IN PROGRESS
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π| FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2026 | Games of the day
β Friday | July 17, 2026β
ππΌ Pool 9 β Week 3 β Osaka π―π΅
β’ 13.00 (Local Time) | Cuba β Argentina 3-2 (17:25, 25:19, 22:25, 25:21, 15:12)
β’ 19.20 (Local Time) | Japan β Belgium 3-0 (25:20, 25:22, 25:16)
| Pool 7 β Week 3 β Belgrade π·πΈ
β’ 16.30 (Local Time) | TΓΌrkiye β Ukraine 3-2 (25:27, 20:25, 25:23, 25:16, 15:11)
β’ 20.00 (Local Time) | Iran β Slovenia 0-3 (25:27, 19:25, 24:26)
| Pool 8 β Week 3 β Chicago πΊπΈ
β’ 16.00 (Local Time) | China β Bulgaria
β’ 20.00 (Local Time) | Brazil β Poland
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π| STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Japan 27
2. USA 25
3. Slovenia 20
4. Poland 20
5. TΓΌrkiye 19
6. Italy 20
5. Ukraine 20
8. Brazil 16
9. Serbia 15
10. Bulgaria 14
11. France 13
12. Germany 13
13. Iran 11
14. Argentina 10
15. Belgium 9
16. Cuba 7
17. Canada 10
18. China 4
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π| NEXT GAMES
β Saturday | July 18, 2026β
| Pool 9 β Week 3 β Osaka π―π΅
β’ 13.00 (Local Time) | Canada β Cuba
β’ 19.20 (Local Time) | Argentina β Italy
| Pool 7 β Week 3 β Belgrade π·πΈ
β’ 16.30 (Local Time) | TΓΌrkiye β Slovenia
β’ 20.00 (Local Time) | Serbia β Germany
| Pool 8 β Week 3 β Chicago πΊπΈ
β’ 16.00 (Local Time) | France β Poland
β’ 20.00 (Local Time) | USA β Bulgaria
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