As the third week of the Volleyball Nations League (July 15–19) approaches, two of Bulgaria's opponents in the Chicago tournament – France and Poland – will play their final warm-up matches on European soil before departing for the United States. Currently, the Bulgarian national team has no publicly announced similar friendly match.
France will face Belgium on July 8 at the "Leo Lagrange" sports complex in Tourcoing. This match will be the final test for Andrea Giani's selection before their departure for Chicago, where "Les Bleus" will compete against Brazil, China, Poland, and Bulgaria.
After the first two tournaments, the Olympic champions are outside the qualification spots for the final eight, making their last preparation before Chicago even more crucial.
Poland will also hold a warm-up match before their departure for the USA. On July 10, the world No. 1 will host Germany at "Urania" Hall in Olsztyn. The match generated huge interest, and tickets were sold out days before it took place.
For Nikola Grbić's selection, this will be the final opportunity for a game-based test before their matches against Bulgaria, Brazil, France, and the host USA in Chicago.
Italy will play against Argentina today, July 5, in Trento. This friendly match is part of the world champions' preparation for the final week of the tournament, where they will aim to qualify among the top eight.
Japan also has a warm-up match. The main national team will face Canada on July 10 in Okinawa.
Unlike their opponents in Chicago, Bulgaria currently has no publicly announced friendly match before the third week of the tournament. The national team appears to be preparing directly for their departure to the USA without an additional friendly game.

The same applies to the other two teams in the group. Host USA has not announced any warm-up matches before the start of the tournament, and China also has no publicly confirmed friendly. For the Asians, the only more serious news is the injury of young middle blocker Xue Zhihong, who is out for the remainder of this year's Nations League due to a fracture in the area of the fifth metatarsal bone of the foot.
Currently, France and Poland remain Bulgaria's only opponents in the Chicago group with officially announced warm-up matches immediately before the start of the third week of the Volleyball Nations League.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov