TOURNAMENT PROFILE

FIVB Volleyball World Championship

The FIVB Volleyball World Championship is the sport’s premier standalone national-team championship. VolleyBond keeps the latest men’s and women’s editions together with complete final placements, pool records, decisive knockout results, performance leaders and recent champions.

Latest edition: 2025CompletedMen & Women
LATEST EDITION

World Championship 2025 at a Glance

Italy completed a remarkable 2025 World Championship double. The men defeated Bulgaria 3–1 in the final in the Philippines, while the women edged Türkiye 3–2 for gold in Thailand.

Poland won the men’s bronze medal and Brazil took women’s bronze. With 32 teams in each event, the latest edition combined a short pool phase with a long knockout path, making the final placement table substantially different from the preliminary records.

LATEST EDITION

Full Final Standings

#TeamPWLPTS
1Italy3217
3Poland3309
4Czechia3216
7Belgium3308
8Iran3215
10Serbia3216
11Slovenia3217
12Tunisia3216
14Canada3216
15Finland3216
16Portugal3215
17Brazil3216
18France3125
19Philippines3124
20Cuba3123
21Germany3123
22Qatar3123
23Japan3123
24Ukraine3123
25Egypt3123
26Colombia3031
28Libya3030
29Romania3030
30China3030
31Chile3030
32Algeria3030

P / W / L / PTS show the Preliminary Phase record; the rank column shows the final tournament placement.

PLAYER PERFORMANCE

Performance Leaders

Men's

Tournament MVP

Alessandro Michieletto · Italy

MVP

Best setter

Simone Giannelli · Italy

Dream Team

Best opposite

Yuri Romanò · Italy

Dream Team

Best middle blocker

Jakub Kochanowski · Poland

Dream Team

Best libero

Fabio Balaso · Italy

Dream Team

Women's

Tournament MVP

Alessia Orro · Italy

MVP

Top scorer

Melissa Vargas · Türkiye

151 points

Top attacker

Melissa Vargas · Türkiye

134 attack points

Top server

Melissa Vargas · Türkiye

10 aces

Best outside hitter

Gabi · Brazil

Dream Team

Best libero

Monica De Gennaro · Italy

Dream Team

DECISIVE MATCHES

Key Results

LATEST EDITION ANALYSIS

How the 2025 World Championships Unfolded

The 32-team format made the opening phase compact: every team played only three pool matches, with the top two in each pool advancing to the round of 16. That makes the P / W / L / PTS columns useful context, but the final-placement rank is determined by the knockout phase.

Bulgaria’s men turned an unbeaten pool phase into a run all the way to the final, while Italy recovered from a pool loss to finish as world champion. Aleksandar Nikolov’s tournament-leading scoring was one of the defining individual stories of the men’s event.

In the women’s event, Italy and Türkiye both went 3–0 in pool play and eventually met for the title. Melissa Vargas led the tournament in several scoring categories, but Italy’s balance and Alessia Orro’s MVP performance decided the championship.

NATIONAL TEAMS

Teams in 2025

COMPETITION GUIDE

Format, Qualification & Hosts

The 2025 World Championships featured 32 national teams in each gender. Eight pools of four produced 16 knockout qualifiers, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the round of 16.

From the round of 16 onward, the tournament used single-elimination matches through the quarterfinals, semifinals and medal matches. The women’s championship was staged in Thailand from 22 August to 7 September, while the men’s championship was held in the Philippines from 12 to 28 September.

2025 EDITION STORY

What Defined the 2025 World Championships

Italy finished 2025 as men’s and women’s world champion

The Azzurri beat Bulgaria in the men’s final, while the women survived a five-set final against Türkiye to complete an exceptional double.

Bulgaria reached the men’s final behind a huge Nikolov tournament

Bulgaria went unbeaten in pool play, reached the gold-medal match and had the tournament’s leading scorer in Aleksandar Nikolov.

Italy and Türkiye turned perfect pool records into the title match

Both teams went 3–0 in the Preliminary Phase before meeting in a five-set final in Thailand.

Michieletto and Orro were named MVPs

Alessandro Michieletto led the men’s champion, while setter Alessia Orro earned women’s MVP honors after Italy’s title run.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Recent Champions

EditionMen's championWomen's championHost
2025ItalyItalyMen: Philippines · Women: Thailand
2022ItalySerbiaPoland / Slovenia · Netherlands / Poland
2018PolandSerbiaItaly / Bulgaria · Japan
2014PolandUnited StatesPoland · Italy
QUICK ANSWERS

Volleyball World Championship FAQ

How many teams played in the 2025 Volleyball World Championships?

The 2025 men’s and women’s World Championships each featured 32 national teams.

Who won the 2025 Volleyball World Championships?

Italy won both the men’s and women’s titles.

Why do the pool records not match the final ranking?

P / W / L / PTS show each team’s three-match preliminary pool record. The final rank reflects the knockout rounds and final placement.

Where were the 2025 World Championships played?

The women’s event was held in Thailand and the men’s event was held in the Philippines.

Will the next World Championship replace this page?

Yes. VolleyBond keeps one permanent World Championship profile and updates the top of the page to the newest edition while retaining recent history below.