The 2027 Men's World Volleyball Championship already has its 32 participants. Although the bronze medal match between Slovenia and Finland and the final between Poland and France are still to be played at EuroVolley 2026, their results cannot change the teams that will play at the World Championship in Poland.
The reason is the FIVB qualification system. The host and the reigning world champion receive automatic berths, three quotas are distributed through each of the five continental championships, and the remaining 15 participants are determined according to the world ranking at the end of the national team season in 2026.
Poland already has a spot as host, and Italy as world champion. From Europe, the quotas are for France, Slovenia, and Finland, which FIVB officially announced as participants after the EuroVolley quarterfinals.
Today's two matches can only change the positions and points of Poland, France, Slovenia, and Finland in the world ranking. However, all four teams already have quotas for the 2027 World Championship, and all other national teams have finished their season and can no longer add points. Thus, the composition of the 32 participants can no longer be changed. Russia is not included among the candidates for a quota by ranking, despite its high position in it. The Russian Federation officially notified FIVB that it voluntarily will not participate in the 2027 World Championship.

17 teams already had secured spots

Thus, before the application of the world ranking, 17 of the 32 places are filled. The remaining 15 go to the highest-ranked teams in the ranking that have not received a quota through any of the other criteria.

Bulgaria enters as No. 1 among teams by ranking

Bulgaria finished its season with 274.55 points and ninth place in the world. After the teams with already secured spots are removed from the ranking, our national team is the highest-ranked among those that receive a quota through the ranking.

The qualification cut-off is immediately after Estonia. The Balts have 139.70 points, and the first team outside the World Cup is Portugal with 131.21. Bulgaria is far from this battle - the difference between our national team and the last quota is 134.85 points.

Historic World Cup for Estonia

Estonia will participate for the first time in a World Championship as an independent state. The historical context here is important - until the restoration of independence, Estonian volleyball was part of the USSR system, and the Estonian Volleyball Federation became a member of FIVB in 1992.
Since its appearance on the international stage with its own national team, Estonia has not yet reached the finals of a men's World Championship. Now, 139.70 points and 31st place in the world ranking bring them the last of the 15 quotas distributed by this criterion.

Denmark returns after 61 years

An even longer wait ends for Denmark. The Scandinavians will play in a World Championship for only the second time in history and for the first time since1966.
However, there is an interesting detail. In 1966, Denmark did not earn its place through sports, but entered the tournament as a substitute after another team withdrew. Therefore, the Danish federation defines the qualification for Poland 2027 asDenmark's first earned World Cup quota.
With 142.74 points, the Danes are 27th in the world ranking and take the 13th of the 15 quotas distributed through it.

Greece back at the World Cup after 21 years

A long break also ends for Greece. The last participation of the Greeks in a World Championship was in2006 in Japan. After that, they missed the editions in 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2025.
Now Greece returns after 21 years. 21st place in the world ranking and a total of 166.64 points secure them a spot among the 32 in Poland.

All 32 participants of the 2027 World Cup

Europe will be the most strongly represented continent at the World Cup –17 of the 32 teams are CEV members. Among them is Bulgaria, which enters as the highest-ranked team among those who received a quota through the world ranking. Poland 2027 will also bring two special European stories – the first World Championship for Estonia as an independent state and the return of Denmark after 61 years. We remind you that the World Championship provides three quotas for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028. They will be distributed among the three highest-ranked teams at the World Cup that do not yet have an Olympic quota. If among the top three in the final standings there is a team that has already secured participation in Los Angeles, the Olympic ticket will go to the next highest-ranked team without a quota.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov and cev.eu