Italy’s title defence is alive and kicking following a straight-set 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-23) win over Poland on Saturday (27 September) to set up a clash against Bulgaria in the final at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship in the Philippines.
Just one victory now stands in the Azzuri’s way towards winning back-to-back crowns for the first time since 1998. A win would also edge the four-time champions closer to the top of the all-time winning list, with the Soviet Union topping the standings with six.
Bulgaria reached the final for the first time since they hosted the tournament in 1970, courtesy of their 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22) semi-final victory over Czechia.
The semi-final between Italy and Poland pitted the two top-ranked teams in the world against each other in a repeat of the 2022 final.
Poland, the dominant force in recent years, was looking to take revenge after they were dethroned by the Italians at the previous edition.
But the Azzuri were in fighting form, taking the first set by a four-point margin, to take the early advantage over the world number one team.
The second was a closer affair with the sides playing tit-for-tat before Italy found the edge to go 2-0 up and tighten their grip on the match.
Poland was in the driving seat in the third set, taking an early 4-1 lead, and looked set to bring about a momentum swing. The three-time world champions opened a five-point lead at 10-5 before Italy launched their fightback.
Italy levelled the scores at 18-18 before taking the lead for the first time in the set (21-22), which ultimately led to a dominant straight-set victory.