Wikipedia

2026 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League

The 2026 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League is the eighth edition of the FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League, an annual men's international volleyball tournament. It is currently held from 10 June to 2 August 2026, with the final round to take place at the Beilun Gymnasium in Ningbo, China.[1]

2026 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League
2026世界男排联赛
Tournament details
Host nationChina
CityNingbo (final round)
Dates10 June – 2 August
Teams18 (from 4 confederations)
Venue(s)10 (in 10 host cities)
Tournament statistics
Matches played72
Attendance239,650 (3,328 per match)
Official website
Volleyball Nations League

Following the results of the 2025 Nations League, the Netherlands were relegated and replaced by Belgium as the highest-ranked non-VNL team in the FIVB World Rankings.

Host selection

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In January 2026, the FIVB announced China as the host for the Men's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Finals. Ningbo was selected to stage the event for the second consecutive year, following its successful hosting of the 2025 edition.[2]

Qualification

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The tournament features 18 national teams. Following the 2025 season, the Netherlands were excluded after finishing last among the teams and replaced by Belgium, who earned the right as the highest-ranked non-VNL team in the FIVB World Rankings.[3]

List of 2026 VNL participating teams
Country Confederation Previous appearances Best performance
Total First Last
 Argentina CSV 7 2018 2025 5th place (2023)
 Belgium CEV 0 None Debut
 Brazil CSV 7 2018 2025 Champions (2021)
 Bulgaria CEV 7 2018 2025 11th place (2018, 2025)
 Canada NORCECA 7 2018 2025 6th place (2024)
 China AVC 5 2018 2025 8th place (2025)
 Cuba NORCECA 3 2023 2025 7th place (2025)
 France CEV 7 2018 2025 Champions (2022, 2024)
 Germany CEV 7 2018 2025 9th place (2018)
 Iran AVC 7 2018 2025 5th place (2019)
 Italy CEV 7 2018 2025 Runners-up (2025)
 Japan AVC 7 2018 2025 Runners-up (2024)
 Poland CEV 7 2018 2025 Champions (2023, 2025)
 Serbia CEV 7 2018 2025 5th place (2018)
 Slovenia CEV 5 2021 2025 4th place (2021, 2024, 2025)
 Turkey CEV 2 2024 2025 16th place (2024)
 Ukraine CEV 1 2025 10th place (2025)
 United States NORCECA 7 2018 2025 Runners-up (2019, 2022, 2023)

Format

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Preliminary round

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The format of play is generally the same as in the 2022 edition. Each week, six teams will compete during the pool phase. Each team plays 12 matches during the pool stage. During three weeks, each team plays four times in a table that is set up by an algorithm, with all teams playing 12 times in total at the end of the first phase. The eight best teams advance to the quarter-finals, while the last-placed team loses its place to the highest FIVB-ranked team that did not compete this year. The only country that has already qualified for this phase is China for hosting the finals and if it does not finish the first phase among the top eight, the top seven will qualify with the Chinese team being ranked 8th.[4]

Final round

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The VNL Finals will see the top eight teams moving directly to the knockout phase, which will consist of eight matches in total: four quarterfinals, two semi-finals, and the bronze and gold medal matches.[4]

Final 8 direct elimination formula:

  • The first ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the eighth ranked team, the second ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the seventh ranked team, the third ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the sixth ranked team, and the fourth ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the fifth ranked team.
  • The national team of the hosting territory of the event will have a guaranteed berth for the Final round. If the host nation team do not finish in the top eight in the Preliminary round, they will replace the eighth place team and play as the eighth seed.

Pool composition

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Venues

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Preliminary round

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Week 1
Pool 1 Pool 2 Pool 3
Ottawa, Canada Brasília, Brazil Linyi, China
TD Place Arena Nilson Nelson Gymnasium Linyi Olympic Sports Park Gymnasium
Capacity: 9,500 Capacity: 11,105 Capacity: 12,800
Week 2
Pool 4 Pool 5 Pool 6
Orléans, France Gliwice, Poland Ljubljana, Slovenia
CO'Met Arena Gliwice Arena Arena Stožice
Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 13,572 Capacity: 12,480
Week 3
Pool 7 Pool 8 Pool 9
Belgrade, Serbia Hoffman Estates, United States Osaka, Japan
Belgrade Arena Now Arena Asue Arena Osaka
Capacity: 18,386 Capacity: 10,543 Capacity: 10,000

Final round

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All matches
Ningbo, China
Beilun Gymnasium
Capacity: 8,000

Competition schedule

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●Preliminary round ●Final round
Week 1
10–14 Jun		 Week 2
24–28 Jun		 Week 3
15–19 Jul		 Week 4
29 Jul – 2 Aug
36 matches 36 matches 36 matches 8 matches

Pool standing procedure

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  1. Total number of victories (matches won, matches lost)
  2. In the event of a tie, the following first tiebreaker will apply, with the teams ranked by the most points gained per match as follows:
    • Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 points for the winner, 0 points for the loser
    • Match won 3–2: 2 points for the winner, 1 point for the loser
    • Match forfeited: 3 points for the winner, 0 points (0–25, 0–25, 0–25) for the loser
  3. If teams are still tied after examining the number of victories and points gained, the FIVB will examine the results in order to break the tie in the following order:
    • Sets quotient: if two or more teams are tied on the number of points gained, they will be ranked by the quotient resulting from the division of the number of all sets won by the number of all sets lost.
    • Points quotient: if the tie persists based on the sets quotient, the teams will be ranked by the quotient resulting from the division of all points scored by the total of points lost during all sets.
    • If the tie persists based on the points quotient, the tie will be broken based on the team that won the match between the tied teams during the Round Robin Phase. When the tie in points quotient is between three or more teams, these teams will be ranked taking into consideration only the matches involving the teams in question.

Squads

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Preliminary round

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Ranking

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Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification or relegation
1  Japan (Q) 8 8 0 20 24 11 2.182 810 746 1.086 Final round
2  United States 8 6 2 19 22 10 2.200 747 673 1.110
3  Poland 8 6 2 17 22 14 1.571 844 785 1.075
4  Slovenia 8 6 2 14 20 15 1.333 777 761 1.021
5  Ukraine 8 5 3 16 18 12 1.500 694 654 1.061
6  Italy 8 5 3 16 19 14 1.357 749 716 1.046
7  Turkey 8 5 3 14 18 13 1.385 686 681 1.007
8  Bulgaria 8 5 3 14 18 15 1.200 749 718 1.043
9  Brazil 8 5 3 13 17 15 1.133 740 710 1.042
10  Germany 8 4 4 12 16 17 0.941 735 756 0.972
11  Serbia 8 4 4 12 14 15 0.933 642 689 0.932
12  France 8 4 4 10 16 18 0.889 791 796 0.994
13  Belgium 8 3 5 9 14 19 0.737 731 773 0.946
14  Iran 8 2 6 9 13 19 0.684 709 742 0.956
15  Argentina 8 2 6 7 13 20 0.650 738 775 0.952
16  Canada 8 1 7 8 15 22 0.682 812 829 0.979
17  China[a] 8 1 7 4 9 21 0.429 643 707 0.909 Final round
18  Cuba 8 0 8 2 6 24 0.250 623 709 0.879 Relegated from the Nations League
Updated to match(es) played on 28 June 2026. Source: VNL 2026 – Men's standings
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:
  1. ↑ Qualified as finals' host

Week 1

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Pool 1

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Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
10 Jun11:00Turkey 1–3 United States20–2525–2020–2523–25 88–955,369P2 Boxscore
10 Jun16:00France 3–2 Italy19–2529–2723–2525–2316–14112–1141,746P2 Boxscore
10 Jun19:30Canada 2–3 Germany26–2419–2525–2021–2513–15104–1092,475P2 Boxscore
11 Jun16:00Germany 1–3 Italy20–2525–2021–2531–33 97–1031,610P2 Boxscore
11 Jun19:30Canada 3–1 France25–2025–1821–2527–25 98–882,762P2 Boxscore
12 Jun16:00Germany 0–3 United States22–2515–2520–25  57–751,937P2 Boxscore
12 Jun19:30Turkey 3–0 France25–2327–2525–21  77–692,335P2 Boxscore
13 Jun16:00Canada 2–3 United States25–2035–3324–2621–2511–15116–1195,702P2 Boxscore
13 Jun19:30Turkey 0–3 Italy27–2914–2520–25  61–793,684P2 Boxscore
14 Jun11:00Germany 3–1 France40–3819–2525–2025–22 109–1052,728P2 Boxscore
14 Jun14:30Canada 2–3 Turkey21–2525–1723–2525–148–15102–965,098P2 Boxscore
14 Jun18:00United States 2–3 Italy18–2525–1519–2525–1810–1597–983,324P2 Boxscore

Pool 2

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Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
10 Jun13:00Belgium 3–1 Bulgaria20–2526–2426–2425–23 97–96246P2 Boxscore
10 Jun16:30Serbia 3–1 Argentina25–2325–2025–2726–24 101–94768P2 Boxscore
10 Jun20:00Brazil 3–1 Iran25–2123–2525–1525–23 98–843,470P2 Boxscore
11 Jun16:30Bulgaria 3–0 Iran25–2325–1925–21  75–63512P2 Boxscore
11 Jun20:00Brazil 3–1 Belgium25–1923–2525–1525–20 98–793,730P2 Boxscore
12 Jun16:30Belgium 1–3 Serbia18–2526–2421–2522–25 87–99658P2 Boxscore
12 Jun20:00Iran 3–0 Argentina25–2325–1925–23  75–651,226P2 Boxscore
13 Jun11:00Brazil 3–0 Serbia25–2225–1825–22  75–626,977P2 Boxscore
13 Jun15:30Bulgaria 3–1 Argentina23–2525–2325–1525–23 98–86420P2 Boxscore
14 Jun11:00Belgium 3–2 Iran25–2325–2223–2517–2515–12105–107523P2 Boxscore
14 Jun14:30Bulgaria 0–3 Serbia28–3022–2523–25  73–801,859P2 Boxscore
14 Jun18:00Brazil 3–2 Argentina18–2524–2625–1925–2315–9107–1027,976P2 Boxscore

Pool 3

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Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
10 Jun13:00Cuba 0–3 Poland16–2520–2521–25  57–75311P2 Boxscore
10 Jun16:30China 2–3 Slovenia17–2525–2025–2023–2510–15100–1051,635P2 Boxscore
10 Jun20:00Ukraine 0–3 Japan22–2521–2522–25  65–75643P2 Boxscore
11 Jun16:30China 1–3 Ukraine17–2525–2120–2522–25 84–962,613P2 Boxscore
11 Jun20:00Slovenia 3–2 Poland27–2523–2526–2421–2519–17116–116628P2 Boxscore
12 Jun16:30Ukraine 3–0 Cuba25–2125–2025–16  75–57540P2 Boxscore
12 Jun20:00Japan 3–2 Poland25–2121–2525–2122–2517–15110–1072,063P2 Boxscore
13 Jun16:30China 1–3 Japan23–2522–2525–2021–25 91–959,167P2 Boxscore
13 Jun20:00Cuba 2–3 Slovenia15–2528–2625–1914–2511–1593–1101,588P2 Boxscore
14 Jun13:00Ukraine 2–3 Poland25–1925–1822–2521–2511–15104–1021,121P2 Boxscore
14 Jun16:30China 3–0 Cuba25–2125–1925–23  75–636,793P2 Boxscore
14 Jun20:00Slovenia 1–3 Japan27–2516–2522–2522–25 87–1001,537P2 Boxscore

Week 2

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Pool 4

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Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
24 Jun13:30Serbia 1–3 Japan17–2515–2525–2216–25 73–972,600P2 Boxscore
24 Jun17:00Cuba 0–3 United States21–2521–2519–25  61–752,851P2 Boxscore
24 Jun20:30France 3–2 Iran25–2123–2525–2124–2617–15114–1082,766P2 Boxscore
25 Jun17:00Iran 0–3 United States23–2520–2529–31  72–811,775P2 Boxscore
25 Jun20:30France 3–2 Cuba25–2221–2525–2725–2015–13111–1073,275P2 Boxscore
26 Jun17:00Iran 2–3 Japan19–2519–2525–2025–2312–15100–1081,362P2 Boxscore
26 Jun20:30Serbia 3–1 Cuba25–1913–2525–2325–22 88–891,092P2 Boxscore
27 Jun17:00United States 2–3 Japan25–1821–2525–2022–2513–15106–1033,606P2 Boxscore
27 Jun20:30France 3–0 Serbia25–2325–1625–22  75–615,940P2 Boxscore
28 Jun13:30Iran 3–1 Cuba25–2225–2120–2530–28 100–966,000P2 Boxscore
28 Jun17:00France 2–3 Japan30–2825–1917–2533–3512–15117–1228,032P2 Boxscore
28 Jun20:30Serbia 1–3 United States12–2523–2526–2417–25 78–991,275P2 Boxscore

Pool 5

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Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
24 Jun13:00China 0–3 Turkey16–2519–2521–25  56–752,183P2 Boxscore
24 Jun16:30Argentina 3–2 Germany25–2115–2525–2118–2515–1398–1054,739P2 Boxscore
24 Jun20:00Poland 3–2 Belgium21–2523–2525–1928–2615–13112–1089,429P2 Boxscore
25 Jun16:30China 1–3 Belgium28–2621–2521–2520–25 90–1013,990P2 Boxscore
25 Jun20:00Poland 3–2 Turkey26–2825–1925–2119–2515–11110–1049,866P2 Boxscore
26 Jun16:30China 0–3 Argentina22–2519–2522–25  63–751,340P2 Boxscore
26 Jun20:00Belgium 1–3 Germany22–2525–1923–2519–25 89–942,014P2 Boxscore
27 Jun17:00Poland 3–1 Germany23–2525–1625–1725–15 98–7311,600P2 Boxscore
27 Jun20:30Turkey 3–2 Argentina19–2521–2525–2125–1818–16108–10510,900P2 Boxscore
28 Jun13:00China 1–3 Germany20–2520–2525–2219–25 84–972,414P2 Boxscore
28 Jun16:30Belgium 0–3 Turkey24–2624–2617–25  65–775,713P2 Boxscore
28 Jun20:00Poland 3–1 Argentina48–5026–2425–1925–20 124–11311,167P2 Boxscore

Pool 6

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Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
24 Jun13:00Bulgaria 3–2 Italy18–2525–2025–2319–2515–9102–102890P2 Boxscore
24 Jun16:30Ukraine 3–1 Brazil29–2722–2525–2225–21 101–95760P2 Boxscore
24 Jun20:30Slovenia 3–1 Canada25–2323–2525–2025–23 98–917,036P2 Boxscore
25 Jun16:30Ukraine 3–0 Italy25–2325–1925–16  75–58532P2 Boxscore
25 Jun20:30Slovenia 3–2 Bulgaria19–2525–2117–2526–2415–6102–1013,841P2 Boxscore
26 Jun16:30Ukraine 3–1 Canada25–1925–2318–2525–23 93–90708P2 Boxscore
26 Jun20:00Brazil 1–3 Italy19–2523–2525–2223–25 90–971,175P2 Boxscore
27 Jun16:30Bulgaria 3–2 Canada25–2725–2221–2525–1815–11111–103610P2 Boxscore
27 Jun20:30Slovenia 3–0 Brazil27–2525–1725–20  77–625,117P2 Boxscore
28 Jun13:00Bulgaria 3–1 Ukraine25–2018–2525–2325–17 93–85619P2 Boxscore
28 Jun16:30Canada 2–3 Brazil17–2525–2326–2825–2215–17108–115686P2 Boxscore
28 Jun20:30Slovenia 1–3 Italy25–2319–2518–2520–25 82–985,973P2 Boxscore

Week 3

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Pool 7

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Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
15 Jul13:00Germany – Slovenia–––  0–0 Boxscore
15 Jul16:30Ukraine – Iran–––  0–0 Boxscore
15 Jul20:00Serbia – Turkey–––  0–0 Boxscore
16 Jul16:30Iran – Germany–––  0–0 Boxscore
16 Jul20:00Serbia – Ukraine–––  0–0 Boxscore
17 Jul16:30Turkey – Ukraine–––  0–0 Boxscore
17 Jul20:00Iran – Slovenia–––  0–0 Boxscore
18 Jul16:30Turkey – Slovenia–––  0–0 Boxscore
18 Jul20:00Serbia – Germany–––  0–0 Boxscore
19 Jul13:00Turkey – Iran–––  0–0 Boxscore
19 Jul16:30Ukraine – Germany–––  0–0 Boxscore
19 Jul20:00Serbia – Slovenia–––  0–0 Boxscore

Pool 8

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Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
15 Jul12:00Bulgaria – Poland–––  0–0 Boxscore
15 Jul16:00France – Brazil–––  0–0 Boxscore
15 Jul20:00United States – China–––  0–0 Boxscore
16 Jul16:00China – France–––  0–0 Boxscore
16 Jul20:00United States – Brazil–––  0–0 Boxscore
17 Jul16:00China – Bulgaria–––  0–0 Boxscore
17 Jul20:00Brazil – Poland–––  0–0 Boxscore
18 Jul16:00France – Poland–––  0–0 Boxscore
18 Jul20:00United States – Bulgaria–––  0–0 Boxscore
19 Jul12:00China – Brazil–––  0–0 Boxscore
19 Jul16:00Bulgaria – France–––  0–0 Boxscore
19 Jul20:00United States – Poland–––  0–0 Boxscore

Pool 9

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Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
15 Jul12:00Canada – Argentina–––  0–0 Boxscore
15 Jul15:30Belgium – Cuba–––  0–0 Boxscore
15 Jul19:20Japan – Italy–––  0–0 Boxscore
16 Jul15:30Belgium – Italy–––  0–0 Boxscore
16 Jul19:20Japan – Canada–––  0–0 Boxscore
17 Jul15:30Cuba – Argentina–––  0–0 Boxscore
17 Jul19:20Japan – Belgium–––  0–0 Boxscore
18 Jul16:00Canada – Cuba–––  0–0 Boxscore
18 Jul19:20Argentina – Italy–––  0–0 Boxscore
19 Jul12:00Belgium – Canada–––  0–0 Boxscore
19 Jul15:30Cuba – Italy–––  0–0 Boxscore
19 Jul19:20Japan – Argentina–––  0–0 Boxscore

Final round

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QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
          
 
29 July
 
 
 
 
1 August
 
 
 
 
 
30 July
 
 
 
 
 
2 August
 
 
 
 
 
29 July
 
 
 
 
 
1 August
 
 
 
 
 
30 July
 
 3rd place match
 
 
 
2 August
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Quarterfinals

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Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
29 Jul  – –––  0–0 Boxscore
29 Jul  – –––  0–0 Boxscore
30 Jul  – –––  0–0 Boxscore
30 Jul  – –––  0–0 Boxscore

Semifinals

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Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
1 Aug  – –––  0–0 Boxscore
1 Aug  – –––  0–0 Boxscore

3rd place match

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Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
2 Aug  – –––  0–0 Boxscore

Final

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Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
2 Aug  – –––  0–0 Boxscore

Final standing

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See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "Volleyball World Unveils 2026 VNL Host Cities Across 12 Countries" (Press release). FIVB. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  2. ↑ Shen, Zhiying (29 January 2026). 男排顶级赛事，再次落户宁波北仑 [Top-tier men's volleyball returns to Ningbo Beilun]. Sina (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  3. ↑ "Belgium set for VNL debut in 2026". Volleyball World. 5 August 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  4. 1 2 "VNL 2026 Competition Formula". Volleyball World. Archived from the original on 12 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
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