VNL 2026: Defending champions Poland sweep the USA to finish second. Straight sets win also for already eliminated Brazil and France

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Third and last week of the Preliminary Phase of 2026 Volleyball Nations League continued today in three cities, Osaka (Japan), Belgrade (Serbia) and here in Chicago (USA), with a total of 36 matches, which will determine the standings but also the other seven teams who will play the quarterfinals in Nigbo with hosts China, from July 29 to August 2, already qualified Japan, USA, Slovenia and now also Italy and Poland!

In last games in Chicago, Brazil closed out its 2026 Volleyball Nations League campaign with a straight-set victory over China: 25:16, 25:20, 25:21, finishing the preliminary round in 9th place with a 7-5 record, narrowly missing out on a spot in the VNL Finals.
Meanwhile, China ends the preliminary round in 18th and last place with a 1-11 record. However, as the host of the VNL Finals, China automatically qualifies and will enter the Finals as the No. 8 seed and will face undefeated Japan.

Bulgaria missed a historic chance to make the VNL Finals for the first time. Any win over France in Chicago would have propelled them among the quarterfinalists.
However, the reigning two-time back-to-back but already eliminated Olympic champions recorded a 3-0 (25:21, 25:22, 25:21) sweep, with outside hitter Mathis Henno leading the way with 20 points, three aces and a block. His Bulgarian counterpart Aleksandar Nikolov led his team once again with 16 points, all in attack, but team finished in eighth place on 7-5 and 20, while France took 10th on 6-6 and 16. To seventh place Ukraine.

In the U.S. evening, defending champions Poland ended the Preliminary Phase of the 2026 edition of the VNL strongly, showing they will be ready to defend the title they won last year in two weeks in China during the Finals.
The Europeans ended their perfect campaign in the third week with a clean 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-19) win over hosts the United States in Chicago, before beating also Bulgaria, Brazil and France in Chicago, closing theit path with ten wins and 29 points in the final standings, beating Slovenia for second place. With that, they will face seventh-placed Ukraine in the quarterfinals.
The United States, who were strongly in the race for second place before dropping their last two matches in Chicago, ended up in fifth place with eight wins and 25 points and are set to cross paths with world champions Italy in the first round of the Finals.
For Poland, who counted on massive support in Chicago, which is home to the largest Polish population outside of the country, opposite Bartlomiej Bołądź, led the charge with 16 points including three blocks and one ace, while star outside hitter Wilfredo León added 14 with two blocks and one ace.

“I’m happy that we did a great job this week in Chicago and am very proud of my team,” León said. “The many Polish fans who came here today to cheer us on made a big difference. It felt like 80% of the crowd was on our side, and we need to thank them for getting that kind of support on the road. Now we go to the Finals ready to fight and to defend our title. It will be three very difficult matches, but if we can play in the way we did here, we can be the best team.”

On the other side of the net, outside hitter Matt Anderson was the most productive with 13 points (ten kills, three aces), while fellow outside hitter TJ Defalco and opposite Jake Hanes contributed eight points each.

“They did a ton of things really well,” setter Micah Christenson said after the match. “They’re a high-level team, and they showed their depth when they started to struggle and brought somebody else in who’s another world-class player. We’re a pretty new group and have been learning about each other, and hopefully we’ll find a way to continue playing at a high level all the time going forward.”

The Preliminary Phase of the men’s Volleyball Nations League is now over and all seven teams joining hosts China into the upcoming Finals in Ningbo are known.
The last two spots in the quarterfinals were filled on Sunday, when Turkiye and Ukraine secured their spots alongside Japan, Poland, Slovenia, Italy, the United States and the home team. Both Turkiye and Ukraine will participate in the Finals for the first time in the history of the VNL!

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

— Sunday | July 19, 2026—

| Pool 9 – Week 3 – Osaka 🇯🇵
• 12.00 (Local Time) | Belgium – Canada 3-0 (25:22, 25:22, 25:19)
• 15.30 (Local Time) | Cuba – Italy 1-3 (25:17, 19:25, 21:25, 17:25)
• 19.20 (Local Time) | Japan – Argentina 3-0 (25:22, 25:22, 25:16)

| Pool 7 – Week 3 – Belgrade 🇷🇸
• 13.00 (Local Time) | Türkiye – Iran 3-1 (17:25, 25:22, 25:16, 25:19)
• 16.30 (Local Time) | Ukraine – Germany 3-1 (25:23, 20:25, 25:22, 26:24)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Serbia – Slovenia 0-3 (19:25, 21:25, 22:25)

👉🏼 Pool 8 – Week 3 – Chicago 🇺🇸
• 12.00 (Local Time) | China – Brazil 0-3 (16:25, 20:25, 21:25)
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Bulgaria – France 0-3 (21:25, 22:25, 21:25)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | USA – Poland 0-3 (20:25, 21:25, 19:25)

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🏐|FINAL STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Japan 30
2. Poland 29
3. Slovenia 26
4. Italy 26
5. USA 25
6. Türkiye 22
7. Ukraine 23
8. Bulgaria 20
9. Brazil 19
10. France 16
11. Serbia 16
12. Germany 15
13. Belgium 12
14. Iran 11
15. Argentina 10
16. Cuba 10
17. ~~Canada 10~~
18. China 4