On Friday, September 12, the Men's World Championship 2025 will begin in the Philippines — the first World Championship with 32 participating teams and a new biennial cycle. The competition will run until September 28, with a total of 64 matches to be played in two venues — SM Mall of Asia Arena (18,000 capacity) in Pasay and Araneta Coliseum (15,000 capacity) in Quezon City.
Key highlights before the tournament
Host: Philippines — World Championship debut.
Format: 8 groups of 4 teams. The top two advance to the Round of 16.
Reigning champion: Italy — a chance to defend its title, as Brazil and Poland have already done in the 21st century.
Returns: Algeria, Libya, Chile, Romania, and others — back on the big stage after long absences.
Big name: Wilfredo Leon to debut for Poland at a World Championship.
Record holder: Luciano De Cecco could become the first volleyball player to participate in 6 consecutive World Championships.
Oldest player: Georg Grozer — the 41-year-old German returns after an 11-year absence.
Debutants 2025
Philippines 🇵🇭 — host, first participation in history
Colombia 🇨🇴 — bronze medalist from South America 2023
Returning teams (missed WC 2022)
Algeria, Belgium, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, Libya, Portugal, Romania, South Korea.
Absent stars from WC 2025
Poland 🇵🇱: Aleksander Sliwka, Bartosz Bednorz, Mateusz Poreba, Bartlomiej Boladz
Canada 🇨🇦: Eric Loeppky, Danny Demyanenko, Arthur Szwarc
Iran 🇮🇷: Milad Ebadipour, Amin Esmaeilnezhad, Javad Karimi
Germany 🇩🇪: Ruben Schott, Julian Zenger, Moritz Karlitzek, Johannes Tille, Linus Weber
Japan 🇯🇵: Masahiro Sekita, Kentaro Takahashi, Yuji Nishida, Akihiro Yamauchi
USA 🇺🇸: Matthew Anderson, David Smith, Maxwell Holt, Torey DeFalco, Thomas Jaeschke, Garrett Muagututia, Aaron Russell
Brazil 🇧🇷: Thales Hoss
Argentina 🇦🇷: Bruno Lima
Slovenia 🇸🇮: Klemen Čebulj, Rok Možič
Cuba 🇨🇺: Jesús Herrera
Italy 🇮🇹: Gabriele Laurenzano, Daniele Lavia
France 🇫🇷: Stéphen Boyer, Kévin Tillie, Joris Seddik
Serbia 🇷🇸: Petar Krsmanović, Vukašin Ristić
Netherlands 🇳🇱: Nimir Abdel-Aziz
Egypt 🇪🇬: Mohamed Adel ("Dola")
Participants:
| Team | Foundation | Appearances | Last appearance | Best ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria 🇩🇿 | African Vice-champion 2023 | 2 | – | 13th (1994) |
| Egypt 🇪🇬 | African Champion 2023 | 10 | 19th | 13th (2010) |
| Libya 🇱🇾 | 3rd Africa 2023 | 1 | – | 24th (1982) |
| Tunisia 🇹🇳 | 24th FIVB | 11 | 16th | 15th (2006) |
| Argentina 🇦🇷 | South American Champion 2023 | 13 | 8th | 3rd (1982) |
| Brazil 🇧🇷 | South American Vice-champion 2023 | 18 | 3rd | Champion (2002, 2006, 2010) |
| Chile 🇨🇱 | 27th FIVB | 1 | – | 23rd (1982) |
| Colombia 🇨🇴 | 3rd South America 2023 | Debut | – | – |
| USA 🇺🇸 | NORCECA Champion 2023 | 17 | 6th | Champion (1986) |
| Canada 🇨🇦 | NORCECA Vice-champion 2023 | 12 | 17th | 7th (2014) |
| Cuba 🇨🇺 | 3rd NORCECA 2023 | 16 | 14th | 2nd (1990, 2010) |
| Japan 🇯🇵 | Asian Champion 2023 | 16 | 12th | 3rd (1970, 1974) |
| Iran 🇮🇷 | Asian Vice-champion 2023 | 7 | 13th | 6th (2014) |
| Qatar 🇶🇦 | 3rd in Asia 2023 | 1 | 21st | 21st (2022) |
| South Korea 🇰🇷 | 28th FIVB | 9 | – | 4th (1978) |
| China 🇨🇳 | 25th FIVB | 15 | 24th | 7th (1978, 1982) |
| Philippines 🇵🇭 | Host | Debut | – | – |
| Italy 🇮🇹 | World Champion 2022 | 18 | Champion | Champion (1990, 1994, 1998, 2022) |
| Poland 🇵🇱 | European Champion 2023 | 18 | 2nd | Champion (1974, 2014, 2018) |
| Slovenia 🇸🇮 | 3rd European 2023 | 2 | 4th | 4th (2022) |
| France 🇫🇷 | 4th European 2023 | 17 | 5th | 3rd (2002) |
| Serbia 🇷🇸 | 10th FIVB | 7 | 9th | 2nd (1998) |
| Germany 🇩🇪 | 8th FIVB | 7 | 15th | 3rd (2014) |
| Netherlands 🇳🇱 | 13th FIVB | 13 | 10th | 2nd (1994) |
| Ukraine 🇺🇦 | 14th FIVB | 2 | 7th | 7th (2022) |
| Turkey 🇹🇷 | 17th FIVB | 3 | 11th | 11th (2022) |
| Czech Republic 🇨🇿 | 18th FIVB | 4 | – | Champion (1956, 1966) |
| Belgium 🇧🇪 | 16th FIVB | 9 | – | 8th (1970) |
| Bulgaria 🇧🇬 | 19th FIVB | 19 | 20th | 2nd (1970) |
| Portugal 🇵🇹 | 22nd FIVB | 2 | – | 8th (2002) |
| Romania 🇷🇴 | 26th FIVB | 10 | – | 2nd (1956, 1966) |
| Finland 🇫🇮 | 23rd FIVB | 8 | – | 9th (2014) |
Groups:
Group A:
Philippines 🇵🇭, Iran 🇮🇷, Egypt 🇪🇬, Tunisia 🇹🇳
Group B:
Poland 🇵🇱, Netherlands 🇳🇱, Qatar 🇶🇦, Romania 🇷🇴
Group C:
France 🇫🇷, Argentina 🇦🇷, Finland 🇫🇮, South Korea 🇰🇷
Group D:
USA 🇺🇸, Cuba 🇨🇺, Portugal 🇵🇹, Colombia 🇨🇴
Group E:
Slovenia 🇸🇮, Germany 🇩🇪, Bulgaria 🇧🇬, Chile 🇨🇱
Group F:
Italy 🇮🇹, Ukraine 🇺🇦, Belgium 🇧🇪, Algeria 🇩🇿
Group G:
Japan 🇯🇵, Canada 🇨🇦, Turkey 🇹🇷, Libya 🇱🇾
Group H:
Brazil 🇧🇷, Serbia 🇷🇸, Czechia 🇨🇿, China 🇨🇳
