With Italy's 3-0 victory over Ukraine, the men's volleyball World Championship standings show China at the bottom, while France, Brazil, Japan, and Cuba have been eliminated.

On September 18th Beijing time, the third round of the men's volleyball World Championship group matches finished. In the last game, European strong team Italy crushed Ukraine 3-0, clinching the final spot in the top 16. Thus, the round of 16 teams were finalized, with Europe dominating by claiming 11 places, and Asia only represented by Iran. The four major powerhouses—France, Brazil, Japan, and Cuba—were unexpectedly eliminated, while the Chinese men's team struggled badly, suffering three straight losses and finishing last, ending their tournament early!

Italy faced Ukraine. Italy, ranked second in the world, is a top team. In the second round of the group stage against Belgium, Italy fell behind 0-2 and was in danger, but fought back to tie 2-2 before narrowly losing the fifth set by 2 points, suffering their first upset defeat and putting their advancement at risk. In the third round, they met Ukraine, ranked 17th globally, with the winner guaranteed a spot in the top 16. Since Ukraine's strength was limited, Italy was under less pressure. Ukraine played very seriously and challenged Italy fully, but Italy's superior skills showed. They took the first two sets 25-21 and 25-22 by pulling away in the late stages. In the third set, Italy finally exploded into form, dominating with multiple strong attacks to win 25-18, sweeping Ukraine 3-0 and securing the last 16 spot. However, because Belgium in the same group won all three matches and took first place, Italy finished second and will face Argentina in the knockout stage. This strong matchup makes Italy’s chances of reaching the quarterfinals uncertain!

The Chinese men's volleyball team faced the Czech Republic in this battle for pride, but was completely outplayed in all aspects by their opponents. Ultimately, China suffered a harsh 0-3 defeat, ending their World Championship journey with three straight losses and only one set won. It must be said that the Chinese men's team still struggles to meet expectations, with their strength truly lacking, and progress under coach Haining has been limited!

So far in this World Championship group stage, there have been four major upsets: the four top ten teams—France, Italy, Japan, and Cuba—were unexpectedly eliminated early, which shocked many. Conversely, four dark horse teams—Portugal, Finland, Canada, and the Czech Republic—have emerged. The round of 16 is about to begin, promising exciting matches ahead. Let’s look forward to the thrilling battles to come!

Written by / Sports Fiction