Next September, the Philippines will host their first ever volleyball World Championship. The male national sides will face off on the archipelago to lift the most important FIVB trophy, second only to the Olympic silverware. This time we have some clear favourites: Italy, Brazil, Poland and France, who are playing extremely well. The main underdogs are Japan and the USA.
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What shape are the favourites in?
Let’s see in what condition the favourites are at the moment, when we are three weeks away from the opening game.
Italy
The Italian side is the team to beat, obviously. They are the actual champions and will be determined to repeat themselves. It won’t be easy, of course, but the quality of the roster is absolute.
Poland
The Polish team showed it can be as dangerous as the Italian one. The two sides faced each other several times already this year. No matter the outcome, the games were always extremely competitive. Nikola Grbic, the head coach, is trying his best to bring a strong team to the islands and recently made some cuts in order to keep the group he deems the best possible.
France
France seems slightly undermanned when confronted with Italy or Poland but this is a powerhouse nonetheless. They may need some help in the tournament but their pool is not that difficult. They’ll face Argentina and then will have a couple of easy games, at least on paper, against Korea and Finland.
Brazil
The South Americans represent a different school. They are less tactically strict and tend to leave more room to fantasy and skills. But they are plenty capable, of course. Even if some players may be more inclined to play a beach volley match than a 6-on-6 one, nobody should underrate them.
The underdogs
Japan has some names on its team and can count on history and tradition, since it is the best Asian side in a tournament played in their continent. The US doesn’t have their best selection to date but could say their piece. They’ll play in pool D against Cuba, in a match-up that will tell us plenty about their true chances to go all the way, before challenging Portugal and Colombia in two easier games.
A new format
This World Championship will be played under a new format, called Enhanced Competition Formula by the World Federation. 32 teams will participate and 64 games will be played in Manila, the Filipino capital, where the local federation built two top-notch arenas. For the first time ever, the tourney will be held in an odd year. This will become the new normality. We are used to World Championships every 4 years but now we will have one after three years from the latest. Last time, we had 24 teams, now there are 8 more.
After the pool phase we will follow a direct elimination phase. The format is nothing new for people used to watching the FIFA Football World Cups. Two teams will qualify without needing any match in the preliminary phase: the hosting national side and the defending champion. For this edition, the Philippines and Italy were automatically qualified. 15 spots are awarded to teams competing in the continental championships (3 for continent) while the other 15 are reserved for the top FIVB ranked teams, not yet qualified, at the end of August, in the year previous to the World Championships.
