The semi-final results for the 2025 Men's Volleyball World Championship are as follows:
Semi-finals
Bulgaria - Czech Republic
3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22)
In the first set, Bulgaria took the lead 25-20 with a strong attack from OH Nikolov, two attacks from S Nikolov, and three aces. In the second set, Czech Republic's OH Vasina and OP Indra continued to score with high-powered attacks, winning the close match 23-25.
The third set continued to be a close one in the beginning, but with attacks from OH Nikolov and a total of five blocks from the team, Bulgaria gradually increased their lead from the middle of the set and took the lead 25-21, putting them in checkmate.
In the fourth set, the Czech Republic, with the help of OP Shotla and others who came on in this set, fought evenly until the middle of the match, but made more mistakes towards the end. Meanwhile, Bulgaria maintained their concentration despite not being able to attack well, and extended their lead. In the end, the Czech Republic made a serve error, and Bulgaria took the set 25-22, winning 3-1.
Bulgaria has advanced to the final of the World Championships for the first time in 55 years, since the 1970 tournament, and will be aiming for their first victory.
The defeated Czech Republic will now play in the third-place match, where they will aim for their first medal in 59 years, since the 1966 tournament.
Italy - Poland
3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-23)
The second semifinal match was a rematch of this year's VNL final.
In the first set, Poland took the lead 7-11 thanks to a block from OH Semeniuk, but Italy scored consecutive points from powerful serves to take the lead to 16-15 in the middle of the set. Italy then continued to score points, mainly through attacks from OP Romano and OH Micheletto, and took the lead 25-21.
In the second set, Italy scored points mainly through OP Romano and OH Micheletto, while Poland scored points mainly through OH Leon, and the score remained tied at 22-22 until the end of the set.However, Italy scored consecutive breaks thanks to a powerful serve from relief server OH Sani, and finished with an ace from him to win the set 25-22.
In the third set, Poland took a 1-5 lead early on with consecutive aces from MB Huber, and continued to lead 9-14 with attacks from OP Sasak. However, Italy narrowed the gap with blocks from MB Russo, and an ace from OH Micheletto tied the score at 18-18. From there, a block from MB Anzani and an ace from relief server OH Sani put Italy ahead at 22-19, and finally, a back-row attack from OH Micheletto gave Italy the lead at 25-23, giving them a 3-0 victory.
Italy will get revenge for this year's VNL final and advance to the final for the second consecutive tournament, following the 2022 tournament, aiming for a second consecutive victory.
Poland, which lost, will now play in the third-place match, aiming to win a medal for the fourth consecutive tournament since 2014.
Upcoming match schedule
*Times are in Japan time
3rd Place Match
September 28th (Sunday)
15:30 Poland - Czech Republic
Finals
September 28th (Sunday)
19:30 Italy - Bulgaria
*For detailed match results and schedules, please visit the official tournament website.
https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/men-world-championship
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Photo: Volleyball World
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