In a thrilling end to the sixth edition of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL), France secured the gold medal, setting the stage for an exhilarating performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
France demonstrated their prowess by defeating Japan, the world’s second-ranked team, with a score of 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-23, 25-23) in front of a packed Atlas Arena in Łódź. This victory marks France’s return to the top of the VNL podium after their first gold in 2022. French team’s journey to the finals was marked by a series of ups and downs during the Preliminary Phase, finishing in sixth place with eight wins and four losses. However, they found their stride in Łódź, defeating the top three teams in the World Rankings to claim the trophy.
Despite their loss in the final, Japan had much to celebrate. They improved on their historic bronze-medal win from 2023 and made it to the gold medal match of a major international tournament.
Jean Patry was instrumental for France, scoring 24 points in the gold medal match. Kevin Tillie and Yacine Louati also made significant contributions with 13 and 11 points, respectively. On the Japanese side, captain Yuki Ishikawa led with 17 points, followed by Yuji Nishida with 11 and Kento Miyaura with 10.
Earlier in the day, Poland delighted their home crowd by clinching the bronze medal, defeating Slovenia 3-0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-17).
