Three of the major favorites in this year's Women's Volleyball Nations League have officially secured their place in the final tournament in Macau (July 22-26). After the second day of the third week, USA, Brazil, and Italy became unreachable for their pursuers and joined host China. This leaves only four free spots for the final eight, and the fight for them intensified even more after the victories of the Netherlands and Czechia. At the bottom of the standings, the situation also became seriously complicated, with Bulgaria remaining last before the decisive match against France.

USA – Turkey 3:2(22:25,25:23,27:29,25:21,15:8)

The Americans guaranteed their participation in the finals after an extremely dramatic five-set clash with European champions Turkey. After losing to Poland in a tie-break a day earlier, this time Karch Kiraly's volleyball players showed character and achieved a valuable success. The fifth set proved decisive, with the USA dominating completely and leaving their opponent with only eight points. Avery Skinner and Logan Eggleston scored 19 points each, while Jordan Thompson added another 17. On the other side, Melissa Vargas had another phenomenal match with 35 points, but they were not enough for victory. Despite the defeat, Turkey remains in the finals zone in seventh place.

Brazil – Poland 3:1(25:20,23:25,25:23,28:26)

Brazil also sealed their ticket to Macau after a very valuable success against a direct competitor. The South Americans demonstrated stronger nerves in decisive moments, snatching the fourth set after a dramatic finish. Ana Cristina was unstoppable with 26 points and surpassed the 600 career points mark in her VNL career. Poland relied mainly on Magdalena Stysiak, who finished with 20 points. The loss knocked the Poles out of the spots that grant participation in the final tournament, with the team now being eighth.

Italy – Belgium 3:0(25:20,25:16,25:19)

Olympic and world champion Italy left no chances for Belgium and also secured their place among the top eight teams. Julio Velasco's team dominated in all elements and finished the match in just three sets. Ekaterina Antropova had an impressive match with 23 points, including 6 aces and 5 successful blocks, and Sara Fahr added another 12 points. The Belgians failed to put up serious resistance, but for now remain far from the danger zone.

Dominican Republic – Ukraine 3:2(25:17,25:16,22:25,19:25,15:13)

One of the most dramatic matches of the day was also crucial in the battle to stay in the elite. The Dominican Republic took a 2:0 lead, but Ukraine managed to equalize and send the match to a tie-break. In the fifth set, the Caribbean team squandered a five-point lead, but still clinched the victory 15:13. Brayelin Martinez was the heroine with 29 points, including 7 successful blocks. The win moved the Dominican Republic to 15th place and dropped Ukraine to 16th, while Bulgaria remained in last, 18th place.

Czechia – Bulgaria 3:1(16:25,25:12,25:19,25:14)

Bulgaria started excellent and convincingly won the first set, but then the Czech team completely turned the course of the match. Monika Brancuska was unstoppable with 30 points and led Czechia to its fifth victory in the tournament. Marcelo Abbondanza's national team remained with only five points and now has no room for error. Today's match against France becomes crucial in the battle to stay in the Nations League, as the Frenchwomen are Bulgaria's direct competitor.

Netherlands – Germany 3:0(25:23,25:23,25:23)

The Dutch continue their impressive performance in Belgrade and recorded their third consecutive victory without dropping a set. The success propelled the 'Tulips' to fourth place in the provisional standings and brought them significantly closer to the final tournament. Jolien Knollema scored 14 points, while Laura Jansen and Indy Baijens added 11 each. For Germany, Lena Grozer and Lina Alsmeier finished with 16 and 15 points respectively, but the team definitively lost their chances of qualifying for the finals.

Provisional VNL 2026 Standings

The most important change in the standings is the Netherlands' climb to fourth place, which pushed Poland out of the finals zone. At the bottom, the Dominican Republic moved off last place, and Bulgaria remained in 18th position before the direct clash with France.

FIVB World Ranking of VNL participants

After the completed matches, the Netherlands solidified its eighth place in the world rankings. The Czech Republic continues to close in on the Top 13, while Bulgaria remains in 27th position. As after the previous competition day, Russia is not included in the table, although it officially holds ninth place in the rankings, as it does not participate in international tournaments.