2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship Pool B

Pool B is one of eight pools of the preliminary round of the 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship. The pool consists of the current Olympic champion Italy as well as Belgium, Cuba, and Slovakia.[1] Teams will play one another in a round-robin, where the top two teams advancing to the final round.[2]

Teams

The following four teams will compete in Pool B for the tournament, listed by their position in the pool.

Position	Country	Confederation	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearances			Previous best performance
					Total	First	Last
B1	Italy^a	CEV	2023 European 4th placers	30 August 2023	12	1978	2022	Champions (2002)
B2	Belgium	CEV	3rd World ranked non-qualified team	30 August 2024	4	1956	2022	9th place (2022)
B3	Cuba	NORCECA	9th World ranked non-qualified team	30 August 2024	13	1970	2018	Champions (1978, 1994, 1998)
B4	Slovakia	CEV	13th World ranked non-qualified team	30 August 2024	0	None		None

Notes

^a Finished at the European Championship as the 4th placers. Its spot was reallocated from Serbia, after qualifying as the defending champion.

World Rankings

The following four teams are ranked in the FIVB World Rankings at the draw, the beginning and the final day of the tournament.

Position	Country	FIVB World Rankings
		Draw^α	Before^β	After^γ
B1	Italy	1 (437.03)
B2	Belgium	14 (190.98)
B3	Cuba	23 (145.17)
B4	Slovakia	26 (137.47)

Notes

^α The FIVB World Ranking at the end of August 2024.[3]

^β The FIVB World Ranking before the first game on 22 August 2025.

^γ The FIVB World Ranking after the final game on 7 September 2025.

Standings

The following four teams are ranked based on the pool standing procedure.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	Italy	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	Advanced to final round
2	Belgium	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
3	Cuba	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
4	Slovakia	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—

First match(es) will be played: TBA. Source: Volleyball World
Rules for classification: Pool standing procedure

• The winners of Pool B will advance to play the runners-up of Pool G.
• The runners-up of Pool B will advance to play the winners of Pool G.

Matches

All times are Thailand Standard Time (UTC+07:00).

The following six matches of Pool B will play at the Phuket Municipal Stadium, Phuket.

Belgium vs Cuba

The teams recently faced each other in the 2014 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship, where Belgium won 3–0. This is the second game between Belgium and Cuba in the World Championship.

	Belgium	v	Cuba	Phuket Municipal Stadium, Phuket

Italy vs Slovakia

The teams recently faced each other in the 2021 Women's European Volleyball Championship, where Italy won 3–1. This is the first game between Italy and Slovakia in the World Championship, marking Slovakia's debut in the tournament.

	Italy	v	Slovakia	Phuket Municipal Stadium, Phuket

Belgium vs Slovakia

The teams recently faced each other in an official match during the European qualification of the 2012 Summer Olympics, where Belgium won 3–0. They also played a friendly match in 2023, with Belgium winning 3–1. This is the first game between Belgium and Slovakia in the World Championship.

	Belgium	v	Slovakia	Phuket Municipal Stadium, Phuket

Italy vs Cuba

The teams recently faced each other in the 2018 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship, where Italy won 3–0. This is the sixth game between Italy and Cuba in the World Championship. Cuba has won three of the previous meetings in 1998, 2002, and 2010, while Italy has won two in 2006 and 2018.

	Italy	v	Cuba	Phuket Municipal Stadium, Phuket

Cuba vs Slovakia

The teams have never met before. This is the first game between Cuba and Slovakia in any tournament, including the World Championship.

	Cuba	v	Slovakia	Phuket Municipal Stadium, Phuket

Italy vs Belgium

The teams will face each other in the 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League ahead of the tournament. This is the fourth game between Italy and Belgium in the World Championship. Italy has won all three of the previous meeting in 1978, 2014, and 2022.

	Italy	v	Belgium	Phuket Municipal Stadium, Phuket

References

1. "2025 Women's World Championship pool-play duels determined". Volleyball World (Press release). 17 December 2024. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
2. "FIVB Volleyball Women's World Champ 2025 Competition Format". Volleyball World. Archived from the original on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
3. "FIVB Women's Volleyball World Ranking". Volleyball World. 30 August 2024. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.

External links

• Official website