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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 continued 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 Nigbo together with hosts China, undefeated Japan and USA, that claimed their tickets on Thursday, and Slovenia, yesterday.
Here in Serbia, Slovenia improved to 9-2 after defeating Türkiye in four sets: 1-3 (22:25, 25:20, 21:25, 23:25).
With the victory, Slovenia strengthens its position near the top of the standings. Meanwhile, Türkiye drops to 7-4 and has not yet officially secured a spot in the 2026 Volleyball Nations League Finals.
The winners had already secured a place in the Final Eight after their victory over Iran, but they did not underestimate their rivals, even though Fabio Soli rested some of his starters. After a competitive match, Slovenia won the first set, lost the second, and then closed the match with success in the next two sets.
The top scorer for Slovenia was Nik Mujanovic who had another great performance scoring 27 points including 4 aces, and Saso Stalekar added 10.
For Turkey, Adis Lagumdzija scored 27 points including 1 block and 1 ace.
After the match, head coach Fabio Soli emphasized that the nine victories in 11 matches are a historic achievement for the Slovenian national team, but admitted that the team still has reserves in its game before the final tournament.
In their last match of the main phase of the tournament in Belgrade, Slovenia will face hosts Serbia.
About the Serbian national team, in the evening missed today an excellent opportunity to keep their hopes alive for qualifying for the Final Eight.
Gheorghe Crețu’s charges took a 2-0 lead in sets against Germany but allowed a complete comeback and lost 2-3 (25:21, 28:26, 16:25,18:25, 13:15) in front of their home crowd at Belgrade Arena.
The home team started strongly and controlled the match in almost all first two sets, dictating the rhythm, making few errors and, above all, didn’t allow the rival to find their play.
Atter that, however, the scene on the court changed, as Germany significantly improved their performance in serving, blocking, and defense, reduced unforced errors, and gradually took the initiative.
The third and fourth sets passed entirely under the dictation of the Germans, able to level the score.
In the tie-break, both teams went point for point, but in the decisive moments, Germany showed more composure and achieved a valuable victory, even after a 12-10 in favor of Serbia.
The most effective player for Germany was Erik Röhrs with 22 points, and Anton Brehme added 20. For Serbia, Veljko Masulovic scored 20 points, and Pavle Peric finished with 13.
After the match, head coach Gheorghe Cretu admitted that pressure had a significant impact on the team.
After this loss, Serbia have a record of 5 wins and 6 losses and has definitively lost their chances to qualify for the Final Eight in Nigbo, China.
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🏐| FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2026 | Games of the day
— Saturday | July 18, 2026—
| Pool 9 – Week 3 – Osaka 🇯🇵
• 13.00 (Local Time) | Canada – Cuba 0-3 (22:25, 21:25, 27:29)
• 19.20 (Local Time) | Argentina – Italy 0-3 (22:25, 22:25, 22:25)
👉🏼 Pool 7 – Week 3 – Belgrade 🇷🇸
• 16.30 (Local Time) | Türkiye – Slovenia 1-3 (22:25, 25:20, 21:25, 23:25)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Serbia – Germany 2-3 (25:21, 28:26, 16:25, 18:25, 13:15)
| Pool 8 – Week 3 – Chicago 🇺🇸
• 16.00 (Local Time) | France – Poland 1-3 (25:17, 22:25, 21:25, 18:25)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | USA – Bulgaria 1-3 (25:27, 25:24, 24:26, 18:25)
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🏐| STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Japan 27
2. Poland 26
3. Slovenia 23
4. USA 25
5. Italy 23
6. Bulgaria 20
7. Türkiye 19
8. Ukraine 20
9. Brazil 16
10. Serbia 16
11. Germany 15
12. France 13
13. Belgium 12
14. Iran 11
15. Argentina 10
16. Cuba 10
17. Canada 10
18. China 4
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🏐| NEXT GAMES
— Sunday | July 19, 2026—
| Pool 9 – Week 3 – Osaka 🇯🇵
• 12.00 (Local Time) | Belgium – Canada
• 15.30 (Local Time) | Cuba – Italy
• 19.20 (Local Time) | Japan – Argentina
| Pool 7 – Week 3 – Belgrade 🇷🇸
• 13.00 (Local Time) | Türkiye – Iran
• 16.30 (Local Time) | Ukraine – Germany
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Serbia – Slovenia
| Pool 8 – Week 3 – Chicago 🇺🇸
• 12.00 (Local Time) | China – Brazil
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Bulgaria – France
• 20.00 (Local Time) | USA – Poland
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