The best eight teams in the world begin their battle for the trophy in the 2026 Volleyball Nations League. From Wednesday to Sunday, the Chinese city of Ningbo will host the Final Eight, which for the second consecutive year is held at the Beilun Sports and Arts Centre.
Japan, Poland, Slovenia, Italy, USA, Turkey, Ukraine, and host China will compete for the honors. China received the right to participate as the tournament organizer, despite finishing in the last, 18th place, in the preliminary phase.
Japan arrives as the only undefeated team in this year's edition of the Nations League. Laurent Tillie's team won all 12 of their matches and finished at the top of the standings with 30 points, becoming one of the main favorites for the title.
Defending champion Poland is also among the strong contenders for the trophy. Nikola Grbić's team finished second after 10 victories and will pursue a third VNL title after triumphs in 2023 and 2025.
The Italian team, which played in the final last season, enters the playoffs as the fourth seed, while Slovenia will once again try to win its first medal in the tournament, after finishing fourth in three of the last four editions.
Turkey and Ukraine are making historic appearances. Both national teams reached the Final Eight for the first time in their history, which in itself is a huge success.
The very first quarter-final between Slovenia and Turkey will be followed with great interest in Bulgaria as well. The reason is the FIVB world ranking, in which our national team occupies 10th place. If Turkey loses 0:3 or 1:3, Bulgaria will overtake our southern neighbors and climb to ninth position after the first day of the final tournament.
In the remaining quarter-finals, Japan will face host China, Italy will go against the USA, and Poland will have the sensation Ukraine as an opponent.
Quarter-final Schedule
| Date | Time (Bulgarian time) | Match | TV / Streaming |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 29 (Wednesday) | 10:00 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia – 🇹🇷 Türkiye | MAX Sport 2 / VBTV |
| July 29 (Wednesday) | 14:30 | 🇯🇵 Japan – 🇨🇳 China | MAX Sport 2 / VBTV |
| July 30 (Thursday) | 10:00 | 🇮🇹 Italy – 🇺🇸 USA | MAX Sport 2 / VBTV |
| July 30 (Thursday) | 14:30 | 🇵🇱 Poland – 🇺🇦 Ukraine | MAX Sport 2 / VBTV |
The semifinals are scheduled for August 1, and the final and the bronze medal match will be played on August 2.
Besides sporting prestige, there's also a significant financial stake. The champion will receive 1 million dollars from the total prize fund for the Final Eight, amounting to 2.3 million dollars. The finalist will earn 500 thousand dollars, the bronze medalist – 300 thousand, and an individual bonus of 30 thousand dollars is provided for the tournament's MVP.
An interesting fact is that the Slovenian ACH Volley Ljubljana has the most representatives among the eight finalists – a total of seven volleyball players. They are followed by the Japanese Osaka Bluteon with six players, while PGE Projekt Warszawa, Bogdanka LUK Lublin, and Fenerbahçe each have five representatives.
After the draw, the quarter-final pairs offered several extremely intriguing clashes. For Bulgaria, the opening match between Slovenia and Turkey is of greatest interest, as its outcome could, on the very first day of the Final Eight, elevate our national team to ninth place in the world rankings. The other three matches pit the reigning champion Poland, undefeated Japan, world champion Italy, and the traditionally strong USA squad against each other, promising an exceptionally high level of volleyball right from the quarter-final phase.
