Poland stays unbeaten; United States knocks Cuba out of FIVB Worlds contention
At A Glance
- World No. 1 Poland toppled Netherlands, 22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-22, to come out on top of its group while United States knocked Cuba out of contention with a 25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 27-25 victory in the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship on Wednesday, Sept. 17 in separate venues.
Poland celebrates a point during its match against Netherlands in the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship. (Volleyball World)
World No. 1 Poland toppled Netherlands, 22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-22, to come out on top of its group while United States knocked Cuba out of contention with a 25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 27-25 victory in the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship on Wednesday, Sept. 17 in separate venues.
Team captain Bartosz Kurek and Tomasz Fornal paced with 19 and 15 points including combined 26 kills as Poland completed their three matches undefeated and without dropping a single set in Pool B at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
That meant arranging a knockout Round of 16 match against Canada, which finished second Pool G in with a 2-1 win-loss record despite bowing to Turkey, 25-21, 25-16, 25-27.
Turkey, which also finished the stage unbeaten in three games, set up a knockout date with Netherlands, which finished second in Pool B with a 2-1 card.
Meanwhile, Cooper Robinson and Gabriel Garcia fired 14 and 12 points for the United States at the Mallf of Asia Arena, which also made its title aspirations felt by finishing atop the Pool D leaderboard with a pristine 3-0 mark.
Joining the Americans into the next round is Portugal, which claimed the No. 2 slot in their pool after a tough 23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-11 victory over Colombia.
The United States is set to clash with the second seed from Pool E, while Portugal battles Pool E top seed Bulgaria, which also finished undefeated in three games after routing Chile, 25-17, 25-12, 25-12.