The 2025 Volleyball World Championship is currently held in Thailand, and the hosts have given their home fans something to write home about in the early proceedings of the competition. With two victories in their opening two matches in Pool A, Thailand have already secured their spot in the final round, where they’ll face the second seed in Pool H.
China and Japan are also through to the Round of 16 after winning their first two matches in Pools F and H. These two Asian countries are the second seeds but can take the top seed if they win their final preliminary round matches.
Besides the three aforementioned countries, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Brazil, the United States, Turkey, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Poland, and defending champions Serbia are also through to the next round. Unfortunately for Vietnam, they’re the only Asian nation that has already been eliminated from the tournament after losing their first two matches against Poland and Germany.
Learn more about the latest Volleyball World Championship 2025 updates, courtesy of SBOTOP.
Thailand can complete Pool A sweep
Thailand are off to a brisk start in the 2025 Volleyball World Championship, recording a 3-1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-15, 25-11) win over Egypt last Friday before clinching their spot in a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-22) win against Sweden last Sunday.
Thailand overpowered Egypt in all categories, especially in kills, with a 56-37 advantage. This was also the case against Sweden, but the latter has the slight edge in blocks at 7-4.
“We prepared very well for this match, we knew what we had to do and we followed the game plan very well,” Pimpichaya said after the Sweden win. “We played with joy in front of our fans too. They help us a lot, they’re really amazing. We get a lot of energy from them.”
Pimpichaya Kokram has been the hosts’ most consistent player so far. The star opposite had 19 points (17 kills, two blocks) against Egypt and 23 points (20 kills, two aces, one block) against Sweden. As of this writing, Kokram is the joint-fifth top scorer in the tournament with 42 points (37 kills, two aces, three blocks).
Middle blocker Thatdao Nuekjang has been Thailand’s second-leading scorer behind Kokram after notching 16 points (11 kills, one ace, four blocks) against Egypt and 11 points (10 kills, one block) against Sweden.
Up next for Thailand is the Netherlands, where these two teams battle for the top spot in Pool A.
Japan achieve rare reverse sweep
Japan also booked their tickets to the final round by winning their first two games in Pool H. After brushing aside Cameroon 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-19) last Saturday, Japan completed a stunning reverse sweep victory over Ukraine two days later 3-2 (25-27, 20-25, 25-20, 25-24, 15-11).
“I want to thank those players that are injured, but are fighting so hard. In my opinion, we deserved this comeback,” Japan head coach Ferhat Akbas said. “It was so tough, but great. In this kind of a tournament, when you have this kind of opportunities, it is actually even better sometimes. So, we will take our lesson and we need to work for the next matches.”
Ukraine shocked Japan by taking the first two sets, but the Asian side mounted a huge comeback, with middle blocker Nichika Yamada sealing the win with a monster block. Japan’s attack was prolific enough to beat the European counterparts, producing 74 kills compared to Ukraine’s 57.
Outside hitter and captain Mayu Ishikawa contributed a match-high 29 points (26 kills, three blocks). Fellow outside hitters Yoshino Sato and Yukiko Wada added 24 (22 kills, one ace, one block) and 12 (11 kills, one block) points. Middle blocker Haruyo Shimamura had 10 points.
Japan may have already qualified for the final round. But they’ll face their biggest test yet in the Volleyball World Championship 2025 odds favourites Serbia tomorrow in a battle for the top seed.
China got the job done
China are doing well in their Volleyball World Championship debut, as they defeated Mexico and Colombia earlier this week to book their tickets to the final round.
In their 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-14, 25-16) win against Colombia on Monday, China split their first two sets against the South American counterparts but proceeded to dominate in sets 3 and 4 because of the latter’s huge error disadvantage (28-11).
Outside hitter Zhuang Yushan produced 17 points (12 kills, five blocks) to lead China. Captain and opposite Gong Xiangyu tallied 15 points (13 kills, two blocks). Outside hitter Tang Xin had 11 points, and middle blocker Gao Yi added 10 points (six kills, one ace, three blocks).
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