The last day of matches in Thailand will start with two international volleyball heavyweights on the court, as Asian giants Japan and South American powerhouse Brazil meet in the third-place match at 15:30 local time (08:30 GMT).
The Brazilians have been more successful in matches involving the teams in the last four years, having triumphed in eight of the last ten duels, including both that were held during the Volleyball Nations League 2025 – one in the Preliminary Phase and another one in the semifinals. Japan, however, came out on top just over a year ago, when they battled in the semifinals of the VNL. The two sides met twice in the last edition of the World Championship, in 2022, with the Asians prevailing in pool play and the South Americans getting revenge in the quarterfinals.
On Sunday, Japan will have the opportunity to add to their vast World Championship medal collection, which features three golds, three silver and one bronze, earned in 2010, the last time that the Asians made it to the podium in the tournament. In Thailand, the team coached by Turkish Ferhat Akbaş dominated Pool H with victories over Cameroon, Ukraine and back-to-back defending champions Serbia. In the elimination rounds, they overcame Thailand in the Round of 16 and the Netherlands in the quarterfinals before falling to Türkiye in the semifinals. Team captain and outside hitter Mayu Ishikawa is their top scorer with 118 points, the second-highest mark in the entire tournament – she’s also second in passes (63) and aces (8). Other individual standouts are setter Nanami Seki, the second-best in her position with 215 successful actions, libero Manami Kojima, third in digs with 64, and opposite Yukiko Wada, who occupies the same spot in the servers’ ranking, with seven aces.
The runners-up of the 2022 World Championship, Brazil will play for their sixth medal in the event after collecting four silvers (1994, 2006, 2010, 2022) and one bronze (2014). The South Americans were the top team in Pool C after taking down Greece, France and Puerto Rico. They overcame the Dominican Republic in the Round of 16, topped France again in the quarterfinals and were on the wrong side of an incredible five-set battle against Olympic champions Italy in the semifinal. Like their opponents, the Brazilians also heavily rely on their talismanic captain, outside hitter Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimarães, who is their leading scorer with 107 points and ranks fourth in successful passes (55). They are in a league of their own when it comes to blocking and have the two most productive players in the category in the entire tournament in middle blockers Júlia Kudiess (27) and Diana Alecrim (24).