2026 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League

Women's volleyball tournament From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2026 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League is the eighth edition of the FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League, an annual women's international volleyball tournament. It is currently held from 3 June to 26 July 2026, with the final round to take place at the Macau East Asian Games Dome in Macau, China.[1]

Host nationChina
CityMacau (final round)
Dates3 June – 26 July
Teams18 (from 4 confederations)
Quick facts Tournament details, Host nation ...
2026 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League
Tournament details
Host nationChina
CityMacau (final round)
Dates3 June – 26 July
Teams18 (from 4 confederations)
Venue(s)10 (in 10 host cities)
Tournament statistics
Matches played72
Attendance255,562 (3,549 per match)
Official website
Volleyball Nations League
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Following the results of the 2025 Nations League, South Korea were relegated and replaced by Ukraine as the highest-ranked non-VNL team in the FIVB World Rankings.

Host selection

In January 2026, the FIVB announced China as the host for the Women's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Finals. Macau was selected to stage the event, marking the first time in 15 years—since the 2011 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix—that the city will host the women's finals.[2]

Qualification

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

More information Country, Confederation ...
List of 2026 VNL participating teams
Country Confederation Previous appearances Best performance
Total First Last
 Belgium CEV 5 2018 2025 7th place (2019)
 Brazil CSV 7 2018 2025 Runners-up (2019, 2021, 2022, 2025)
 Bulgaria CEV 5 2019 2025 13th place (2023, 2025)
 Canada NORCECA 5 2021 2025 6th place (2024)
 China AVC 7 2018 2025 Runners-up (2023)
 Czech Republic CEV 1 2025 11th place (2025)
 Dominican Republic NORCECA 7 2018 2025 6th place (2021)
 France CEV 2 2024 2025 9th place (2025)
 Germany CEV 7 2018 2025 7th place (2025)
 Italy CEV 7 2018 2025 Champions (2022, 2024, 2025)
 Japan AVC 7 2018 2025 Runners-up (2024)
 Netherlands CEV 7 2018 2025 5th place (2018)
 Poland CEV 7 2018 2025 3rd place (2023, 2024, 2025)
 Serbia CEV 7 2018 2025 3rd place (2022)
 Thailand AVC 7 2018 2025 8th place (2022, 2024)
 Turkey CEV 7 2018 2025 Champions (2023)
 Ukraine CEV 0 None Debut
 United States NORCECA 7 2018 2025 Champions (2018, 2019, 2021)
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Format

Preliminary round

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

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

The overview of pools was released on 28 January 2026.[1]

More information Week 1, Pool 1 Canada ...
Week 1
Pool 1
Canada		 Pool 2
Brazil		 Pool 3
China

 Canada
 United States
 France
 Japan
 Ukraine
 Germany

 Brazil
 Italy
 Netherlands
 Turkey
 Dominican Republic
 Bulgaria

 China
 Serbia
 Belgium
 Poland
 Thailand
 Czech Republic

Week 2
Pool 4
Turkey		 Pool 5
Philippines		 Pool 6
Thailand

 Turkey
 Brazil
 France
 Belgium
 Germany
 China

 Japan
 Italy
 United States
 Serbia
 Dominican Republic
 Czech Republic

 Thailand
 Ukraine
 Bulgaria
 Canada
 Netherlands
 Poland

Week 3
Pool 7
Serbia		 Pool 8
Hong Kong, China		 Pool 9
Japan

 Serbia
 Bulgaria
 Czech Republic
 France
 Netherlands
 Germany

 China
 Italy
 Ukraine
 Canada
 Belgium
 Dominican Republic

 Japan
 Brazil
 Poland
 Turkey
 United States
 Thailand

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Venues

Preliminary round

More information Week 1, Pool 1 ...
Week 1
Pool 1 Pool 2 Pool 3
Quebec City, Canada Brasília, Brazil Nanjing, China
Centre Vidéotron Nilson Nelson Gymnasium Nanjing Olympic Youth Sports Park Gymnasium
Capacity: 18,800 Capacity: 11,105 Capacity: 21,000
Week 2
Pool 4 Pool 5 Pool 6
Ankara, Turkey Pasig, Philippines Bangkok, Thailand
Ankara Arena PhilSports Arena Indoor Stadium Huamark
Capacity: 10,400 Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 8,000
Week 3
Pool 7 Pool 8 Pool 9
Belgrade, Serbia Hong Kong, China Osaka, Japan
Belgrade Arena Kai Tak Arena Asue Arena Osaka
Capacity: 18,386 Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 10,000
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Final round

More information All matches ...
All matches
Macau, China
Macau East Asian Games Dome
Capacity: 9,000
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Competition schedule

●Preliminary round ●Final round
More information Week 1 3–7 Jun, Week 2 17–21 Jun ...
Week 1
3–7 Jun		 Week 2
17–21 Jun		 Week 3
8–12 Jul		 Week 4
22–26 Jul
36 matches 36 matches 36 matches 8 matches
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Pool standing procedure

  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

Main article: 2026 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League squads

Preliminary round

Main article: 2026 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League preliminary round

Ranking

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification or relegation
1  United States 8 7 1 20 21 6 3.500 655 532 1.231 Final round
2  Brazil 8 7 1 20 23 10 2.300 778 651 1.195
3  Italy 8 6 2 18 20 9 2.222 668 605 1.104
4  Poland 8 6 2 17 21 12 1.750 739 682 1.084
5  Japan 8 6 2 16 19 12 1.583 729 670 1.088
6  Turkey 8 6 2 15 19 13 1.462 709 654 1.084
7  Canada 8 5 3 15 19 14 1.357 757 753 1.005
8  China[a] 8 5 3 14 18 14 1.286 710 684 1.038 Final round
9  Netherlands 8 4 4 12 15 12 1.250 607 592 1.025
10  Czech Republic 8 4 4 11 12 14 0.857 571 575 0.993
11  Germany 8 3 5 11 15 18 0.833 705 730 0.966
12  Belgium 8 3 5 8 13 21 0.619 698 746 0.936
13  Serbia 8 2 6 10 15 18 0.833 705 720 0.979
14  Thailand 8 2 6 9 12 19 0.632 650 698 0.931
15  Ukraine 8 2 6 6 12 22 0.545 691 764 0.904
16  Bulgaria 8 2 6 5 8 20 0.400 569 653 0.871
17  Dominican Republic 8 1 7 5 8 22 0.364 587 709 0.828
18  France 8 1 7 4 9 23 0.391 630 740 0.851 Excluded from the Nations League
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Updated to match(es) played on 21 June 2026. Source: VNL 2026 – Women's standings
Notes:
  1. [a]
    Qualified as finals' host

Week 1

Pool 1

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
3 Jun11:00Ukraine 0–3 United States16–2517–2523–25  56–755,000P2 Boxscore
3 Jun16:30France 1–3 Japan25–2312–2522–2513–25 72–981,826P2 Boxscore
3 Jun20:00Canada 1–3 Germany26–2825–2218–2518–25 87–1002,528P2 Boxscore
4 Jun16:30Ukraine 3–2 Germany25–2130–2814–2519–2515–13103–1122,165P2 Boxscore
4 Jun20:00Canada 3–0 United States25–2225–2230–28  80–723,646P2 Boxscore
5 Jun16:30Ukraine 1–3 Japan20–2525–1616–2520–25 81–913,417P2 Boxscore
5 Jun20:30France 2–3 United States21–2525–2325–2725–2311–15107–1133,864P2 Boxscore
6 Jun16:30Canada 3–1 France21–2525–2025–1928–26 99–9010,483P2 Boxscore
6 Jun20:00Germany 0–3 Japan20–2515–2524–26  59–765,606P2 Boxscore
7 Jun11:00Ukraine 2–3 France25–1825–1520–2519–2510–1599–983,554P2 Boxscore
7 Jun14:30United States 3–0 Germany25–2225–1525–12  75–495,269P2 Boxscore
7 Jun18:00Canada 2–3 Japan27–2920–2525–2330–2812–15114–1207,172P2 Boxscore
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Pool 2

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
3 Jun13:00Dominican Republic 2–3 Turkey25–1720–2516–2525–2311–1597–105791P2 Boxscore
3 Jun16:30Italy 3–0 Bulgaria25–2225–1627–25  77–632,401P2 Boxscore
3 Jun20:00Brazil 3–1 Netherlands25–1725–1525–2725–23 100–826,896P2 Boxscore
4 Jun16:30Turkey 0–3 Netherlands23–2517–2518–25  58–752,776P2 Boxscore
4 Jun20:00Brazil 3–1 Dominican Republic23–2525–1825–1125–15 98–698,956P2 Boxscore
5 Jun16:30Dominican Republic 0–3 Bulgaria19–2519–2513–25  51–752,121P2 Boxscore
5 Jun20:00Netherlands 0–3 Italy22–2518–2522–25  62–754,085P2 Boxscore
6 Jun11:00Brazil 3–0 Bulgaria25–2325–1725–13  75–539,139P2 Boxscore
6 Jun15:30Italy 3–1 Turkey25–1626–2825–1925–15 101–783,200P2 Boxscore
7 Jun11:00Dominican Republic 0–3 Netherlands20–2519–2517–25  56–753,227P2 Boxscore
7 Jun14:30Brazil 3–2 Italy25–1525–2222–2524–2615–12111–1009,802P2 Boxscore
7 Jun18:00Bulgaria 1–3 Turkey12–259–2525–2218–25 64–97620P2 Boxscore
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Pool 3

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
3 Jun11:30Belgium 2–3 Poland20–2525–2223–2525–1813–15106–105394P2 Boxscore
3 Jun15:00Thailand 0–3 Serbia24–2622–2519–25  65–76498P2 Boxscore
3 Jun19:30China 0–3 Czech Republic20–2520–2524–26  64–762,654P2 Boxscore
4 Jun15:00Czech Republic 0–3 Poland22–2522–2520–25  64–75365P2 Boxscore
4 Jun19:30China 3–2 Thailand25–1424–2625–1923–2515–7112–912,456P2 Boxscore
5 Jun15:00Belgium 0–3 Czech Republic20–2522–2515–25  57–75390P2 Boxscore
5 Jun19:30Serbia 2–3 Poland25–1719–2518–2525–2215–17102–106829P2 Boxscore
6 Jun15:00Thailand 2–3 Belgium25–2025–2223–2522–2514–16109–108990P2 Boxscore
6 Jun19:30China 3–0 Serbia25–2125–2125–21  75–6317,816P2 Boxscore
7 Jun11:30Thailand 0–3 Czech Republic14–2519–2511–25  44–75544P2 Boxscore
7 Jun15:00Belgium 3–2 Serbia25–2025–2221–2520–2515–11106–103957P2 Boxscore
7 Jun19:00China 3–1 Poland16–2525–1825–2326–24 92–9010,276P2 Boxscore
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Week 2

Pool 4

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
17 Jun12:30Germany 2–3 China27–2523–2525–1820–256–15101–108374P2 Boxscore
17 Jun16:00France 0–3 Brazil22–2519–2515–25  56–75837P2 Boxscore
17 Jun19:30Turkey 3–0 Belgium25–1425–1325–23  75–509,337P2 Boxscore
18 Jun16:00Belgium 2–3 Brazil20–2525–2225–2322–2513–15105–110824P2 Boxscore
18 Jun19:30Turkey 3–0 France25–1725–2325–20  75–609,813P2 Boxscore
19 Jun16:00France 0–3 China18–2517–2519–25  54–75854P2 Boxscore
19 Jun19:30Belgium 0–3 Germany20–2519–2521–25  60–751,598P2 Boxscore
20 Jun16:00China 1–3 Brazil24–2618–2525–1915–25 82–951,880P2 Boxscore
20 Jun19:30Turkey 3–2 Germany18–2524–2625–1925–2215–13107–1059,416P2 Boxscore
21 Jun12:30Belgium 3–2 France25–1720–2521–2525–1815–8106–93387P2 Boxscore
21 Jun16:00Germany 3–2 Brazil26–2428–2615–2519–2516–14104–1141,238P2 Boxscore
21 Jun19:30Turkey 3–2 China25–2126–2823–2525–1615–12114–10211,254P2 Boxscore
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Pool 5

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
17 Jun12:00Dominican Republic 0–3 United States20–2519–2512–25  51–75625P2 Boxscore
17 Jun16:00Czech Republic 0–3 Italy18–2521–2522–25  61–751,285P2 Boxscore
17 Jun20:00Japan 3–2 Serbia20–2526–2418–2532–3015–7111–1111,732P2 Boxscore
18 Jun16:00Czech Republic 0–3 United States17–2512–2516–25  45–75340P2 Boxscore
18 Jun20:00Serbia 2–3 Italy14–2515–2525–1825–2112–1591–1041,167P2 Boxscore
19 Jun16:00Dominican Republic 0–3 Serbia19–2523–2518–25  60–75733P2 Boxscore
19 Jun20:00Japan 3–0 Czech Republic25–1525–2327–25  77–631,659P2 Boxscore
20 Jun16:00United States 3–0 Italy27–2525–2025–16  77–612,572P2 Boxscore
20 Jun20:00Japan 1–3 Dominican Republic25–1720–2526–2823–25 94–953,180P2 Boxscore
21 Jun12:00Serbia 1–3 United States22–2525–1816–2520–25 83–931,423P2 Boxscore
21 Jun16:00Czech Republic 3–2 Dominican Republic17–2524–2625–1831–2915–10112–1083,305P2 Boxscore
21 Jun20:00Japan 0–3 Italy21–2523–2518–25  62–754,774P2 Boxscore
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Pool 6

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
17 Jun13:00Canada 3–1 Netherlands20–2525–1925–1725–20 95–81887P2 Boxscore
17 Jun17:00Bulgaria 0–3 Poland12–2522–2523–25  57–751,860P2 Boxscore
17 Jun20:30Thailand 2–3 Ukraine23–2525–1926–2825–2210–15109–1095,248P2 Boxscore
18 Jun17:00Ukraine 1–3 Poland21–2513–2525–2223–25 82–971,366P2 Boxscore
18 Jun20:30Thailand 3–0 Bulgaria25–2225–2025–17  75–595,248P2 Boxscore
19 Jun17:00Ukraine 0–3 Netherlands22–2517–2520–25  59–75502P2 Boxscore
19 Jun20:30Bulgaria 1–3 Canada17–2525–2323–2526–28 91–101791P2 Boxscore
20 Jun17:00Netherlands 1–3 Poland17–2517–2525–1423–25 82–894,859P2 Boxscore
20 Jun20:30Thailand 3–1 Canada25–2122–2525–1825–20 97–845,574P2 Boxscore
21 Jun13:00Bulgaria 3–2 Ukraine25–2219–2521–2525–1517–15107–102867P2 Boxscore
21 Jun17:00Canada 3–2 Poland25–2321–2525–1611–2515–1397–1025,184P2 Boxscore
21 Jun20:30Thailand 0–3 Netherlands23–2522–2515–25  60–755,856P2 Boxscore
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Week 3

Pool 7

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
8 Jul13:00France – Netherlands–––  0–0 Boxscore
8 Jul16:30Czech Republic – Germany–––  0–0 Boxscore
8 Jul20:00Serbia – Bulgaria–––  0–0 Boxscore
9 Jul16:30Czech Republic – Netherlands–––  0–0 Boxscore
9 Jul20:00Serbia – France–––  0–0 Boxscore
10 Jul16:30Bulgaria – Czech Republic–––  0–0 Boxscore
10 Jul20:00Germany – Netherlands–––  0–0 Boxscore
11 Jul16:30Bulgaria – France–––  0–0 Boxscore
11 Jul20:00Serbia – Germany–––  0–0 Boxscore
12 Jul13:00France – Czech Republic–––  0–0 Boxscore
12 Jul16:30Bulgaria – Germany–––  0–0 Boxscore
12 Jul20:00Serbia – Netherlands–––  0–0 Boxscore
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Pool 8

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
8 Jul11:30Belgium – Dominican Republic–––  0–0 Boxscore
8 Jul17:00Ukraine – Italy–––  0–0 Boxscore
8 Jul20:30China – Canada–––  0–0 Boxscore
9 Jul17:00Belgium – Canada–––  0–0 Boxscore
9 Jul20:30China – Ukraine–––  0–0 Boxscore
10 Jul17:00Ukraine – Dominican Republic–––  0–0 Boxscore
10 Jul20:30Belgium – Italy–––  0–0 Boxscore
11 Jul16:30Canada – Italy–––  0–0 Boxscore
11 Jul20:00China – Dominican Republic–––  0–0 Boxscore
12 Jul11:00Belgium – Ukraine–––  0–0 Boxscore
12 Jul16:30Canada – Dominican Republic–––  0–0 Boxscore
12 Jul20:00China – Italy–––  0–0 Boxscore
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Pool 9

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
8 Jul12:00Turkey – Poland–––  0–0 Boxscore
8 Jul15:30Thailand – United States–––  0–0 Boxscore
8 Jul19:20Japan – Brazil–––  0–0 Boxscore
9 Jul13:00United States – Poland–––  0–0 Boxscore
9 Jul19:20Japan – Thailand–––  0–0 Boxscore
10 Jul13:00United States – Turkey–––  0–0 Boxscore
10 Jul19:20Poland – Brazil–––  0–0 Boxscore
11 Jul15:30Thailand – Brazil–––  0–0 Boxscore
11 Jul19:20Japan – Turkey–––  0–0 Boxscore
12 Jul12:00United States – Brazil–––  0–0 Boxscore
12 Jul15:30Thailand – Turkey–––  0–0 Boxscore
12 Jul19:20Japan – Poland–––  0–0 Boxscore
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Final round

 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
          
 
22 July
 
 
 
 
25 July
 
 
 
 
 
23 July
 
 
 
 
 
26 July
 
 
 
 
 
22 July
 
 
 
 
 
25 July
 
 
 
 
 
23 July
 
 3rd place match
 
 
 
26 July
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Quarterfinals

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
22 Jul  – –––  0–0 Boxscore
22 Jul  – –––  0–0 Boxscore
23 Jul  – –––  0–0 Boxscore
23 Jul  – –––  0–0 Boxscore
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Semifinals

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
25 Jul  – –––  0–0 Boxscore
25 Jul  – –––  0–0 Boxscore
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3rd place match

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
26 Jul  – –––  0–0 Boxscore
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Final

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
26 Jul  – –––  0–0 Boxscore
Close

Final standing

More information Rank, Team ...
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See also

References

External links

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