The second day of the Volleyball Nations League 2026 brought Bulgaria's first victory, a sensational success for Canada against two-time Olympic champion France, Poland's first loss, and significant shifts in both the tournament's provisional standings and the FIVB World Ranking.
After a painful defeat by Belgium on the first day, the Bulgarian national team reacted in the best possible way and defeated Iran 3:0 (25:23, 25:18, 25:21). The success not only brought Gianlorenzo Blengini's team its first three points but also temporarily returned Bulgaria to 9th place in the world ranking.
Just a few hours later, however, Canada delivered one of the biggest surprises of the tournament so far, defeating France 3:1 (25:20, 25:18, 21:25, 27:25). This result brought valuable points for the North Americans and again moved Bulgaria to 10th position in the world ranking.
The good news for the "Lions" is that the differences between Bulgaria, Argentina, and Canada remain minimal. According to the current standings, Bulgaria is 10th with 259.43 points, immediately behind Argentina (259.53) and Canada (259.82). The difference to ninth place is only one-tenth of a point, meaning that upcoming matches could lead to new changes in the coming days.
Today the national team rests, and on Saturday, a direct clash awaits them against Argentina – a match that could have significant importance for both the VNL standings and the positions in the world ranking.
Ukraine recorded their first victory
The day began with Ukraine's first victory in this year's edition of the Nations League. In Linyi, the Ukrainians prevailed over host China 3:1 (25:17, 21:25, 25:20, 25:22) and recorded a valuable success in Group 3.
Raúl Lozano's team controlled most of the match and compensated for a brief hesitation in the second set with more aggressive serving and better blocking play in crucial moments. The Chinese managed to equalize after a strong second set but found no answer to Ukraine's power in attack and organization in defense.
Poland lost their first match
The other major highlight of the day was the first loss for world ranking leader Poland.
Nikola Grbić's team lost to Slovenia 2:3 (25:27, 25:23, 24:26, 25:21, 17:19) after a true volleyball thriller.
The Slovenians won the first and third sets by a minimal margin, while the Poles equalized twice. In the tie-break, Poland led 12:9 and seemed close to a comeback, but Slovenia showed character and achieved success with a 19:17 win.
The victory elevated the Slovenians to second place in the tournament's provisional standings.
Bulgaria took revenge on Iran
The Bulgarian team played a significantly more stable match compared to the clash against Belgium and deservedly defeated Iran 3:0 (25:23, 25:18, 25:21).
The victory against the "Persians" also had symbolic value. The Bulgarians at least partially avenged the painful loss in Gdansk last summer, which deprived them of participation in the final tournament of the Nations League.
The three points moved Bulgaria to ninth place in the provisional VNL standings after the second competition day.
Italy opened their account
After a dramatic defeat by France on the first day, Italy recorded their first victory in VNL 2026.
Ferdinando De Giorgi's young squad overcame Germany 3:1 (25:20, 20:25, 25:21, 33:31) in one of the day's quality matches.
Alessandro Bovolenta scored 17 points for "the Azzurri", and the decisive fourth set saw the Italians save several chances to force a tie-break and close the match with 33:31.
Brazil remained flawless.
In front of their home crowd in the capital Brasilia, "Seleção" continued their winning streak, defeating Belgium 3:1 (25:19, 23:25, 25:15, 25:20).
After the Belgians equalized the score in the second set, the Brazilians responded emphatically and controlled the match until the end.
Canada shocks the Olympic champions.
The biggest surprise came in Ottawa, where the hosts defeated France 3:1 (25:20, 25:18, 21:25, 27:25).
The Canadians dominated the first two sets thanks to strong serving and excellent blocking. The French brought back the intrigue after winning the third set, but in the fourth set, the hosts showed stronger nerves and closed the match after 27:25.
The victory brought valuable points to Canada in the world rankings and allowed the North Americans to overtake Bulgaria, albeit by a minimal margin.
Brazil topped the provisional standings of the Nations League with two wins from two matches.
| Rank | Team | Wins | Points | Set ratio | Point ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | 2 | 6 | 3.000 | 1.202 |
| 2 | Slovenia | 2 | 4 | 1.500 | 1.023 |
| 3 | Poland | 1 | 4 | 1.666 | 1.104 |
| 4 | Italy | 1 | 4 | 1.250 | 1.038 |
| 5 | Canada | 1 | 4 | 1.250 | 1.025 |
| 6 | Japan | 1 | 3 | MAX | 1.153 |
| 7 | USA | 1 | 3 | 3.000 | 1.079 |
| 8 | Serbia | 1 | 3 | 3.000 | 1.074 |
| 9 | Bulgaria | 1 | 3 | 1.333 | 1.068 |
| 10 | Belgium | 1 | 3 | 1.000 | 0.907 |
| 11 | Ukraine | 1 | 3 | 0.750 | 1.012 |
| 12 | Germany | 1 | 2 | 0.800 | 0.995 |
| 13 | France | 1 | 2 | 0.800 | 0.943 |
| 14 | China | 0 | 1 | 0.500 | 0.915 |
| 15 | Argentina | 0 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.930 |
| 16 | Turkey | 0 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.926 |
| 17 | Iran | 0 | 0 | 0.166 | 0.849 |
| 18 | Cuba | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.760 |
Serious competition is already forming at the top. Brazil is the only team with a maximum of six points. Slovenia took advantage of its success against Poland and climbed to second place, while Bulgaria remained in the Top 10 after its convincing success against Iran.
Bulgaria 0.10 points behind Argentina in the world ranking before the direct clash
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Canada | 259.82 |
| 9 | Argentina | 259.53 |
| 10 | Bulgaria | 259.43 |
The battle for 8th-10th place in the world ranking is becoming increasingly fierce. Only 0.39 points separate Canada, Argentina, and Bulgaria. This is precisely why Saturday's match against Argentina could prove to be one of the most important for the Bulgarian team in the first week of the tournament.
For now, Bulgaria remains in close proximity to the world's Top 8, and the outcome of the next matches could reshuffle the positions literally after every game.
photo: Nikolay Varadinov
