Silver medalists of the most recent editions of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship and the Olympic Games and reigning European champions, Poland are currently the world’s number one team, according to the ranking. They have been on the podium at every single edition of the VNL, except for the first one in 2018, and claimed the title in 2023. The two VNL MVPs Poland has had in history – experienced Pawel Zatorski and Bartosz Kurek – will not be part of the team in Ningbo, but the squad will be spearheaded by EuroVolley 2023 MVP Wilfredo Leon, who powered Poland during the third competition week of the Preliminary Phase, as well as by opposite Kewin Sasak, the team’s best scorer so far with a total of 133 points.
Opposite Kento Miyaura was Japan’s top scorer of the Preliminary Phase with 184 points to his name. The stellar presence of outside hitters Ran Takahashi and captain Yuki Ishikawa was also felt during the last competition week and the team will clearly rely a lot on these three in the upcoming battles in Ningbo, hoping to keep the upward VNL trend that started with the 2023 bronze and the 2024 silver. The reigning Asian champions are currently the number five team in the world.