They will need to make it past their recurring rival of recent time in Brazil, one of the sport’s dominant forces yet enduring a drought of lifting the top prizes. Four times they have finished runners-up, aiming to go one step further in Thailand.
Meanwhile, the USA hope to continue building on from their silver medal at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, now turning attention to a competition where they have not medalled in since 2014.
The top two teams in each pool will progress from the preliminary round into the final round, which takes place in a knockout stage format from the round of 16 all the way to the final in Bangkok on 7 September.
FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championships 2025 – how to watch live
VBTV is the place to watch the World Championships around the world, showing all the action on its streaming platform.