Brazil defeats Argentina and secures a spot in the final stage of the VNL

Brazil defeated Argentina 3 sets to 1 - partial scores of 25-21, 25-23, 24-26, 25-18 -, in the early hours of this Wednesday (16/7), in Chiba, Japan, in the opening of the third stage of the VNL Men's Volleyball 2025, and remained in the lead of the competition, with 8 wins in 9 games - the only defeat of the Brazilian team so far was to Cuba, 3 to 2, in the first week.

As a result, Brazil mathematically secured a place in the quarterfinals of the Nations League, which will take place between July 30 and August 3 in the Chinese city of Ningbo.

Brazil has a day off this Thursday and returns to play on Friday (July 18) against Japan at 7:20 a.m. (Brasília time). The match will be broadcast on Sportv, VBTV and the Web Vôlei YouTube channel. Next, the team will face Turkey in the early hours of Saturday (July 19) at 3:30 a.m. and Germany at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday (July 20) to conclude the qualifying phase.

Coach Bernardinho fielded Brazil with setter Cachopa, opposite hitter Alan, middle blockers Judson and Flávio, outside hitters Lukas Bergmann and Honorato, and libero Maique. Adriano, Brasília, and Darlan all came on as the match progressed.

Alan was the game's top scorer with 20 points, followed by Honorato with 18. Lukas Bergmann had 11, one more than Judson . Argentina's standouts were opposite Kukartsev , with 17 points, and outside hitter Palonsky , with 15.

THE GAME

Brazil dominated the first set from start to finish, but in the second, Argentina opened up a five-point lead (8-3) after a strong serving pass from Palonsky. Gradually, with the help of blocking, Bernardinho's team closed the gap until they tied the score at 12-12. The match remained evenly matched. Cachopa and Brasília—who had a key run in a 5-1 reversal—distributed the ball with dominance, using their counterattacks and making it difficult for the opposition to defend. At the end of the set, seven players had seven points in the match (Alan, Honorato, Bergmann, and Flávio).

The third set was marked by strong rallies and a more focused game on the wings by both teams. Alan took a greater lead in the points, but Argentina made fewer mistakes in the final stretch of the set, saving a match point, and won by the narrowest margin (26-24).

In the fourth set, Brazil opened up a four-point lead midway through the set, maintained an aggressive serve and managed to increase their lead to 25-18.

MALE VNL

GAMES THIS WEDNESDAY (16/7)

Brazil 3 x 1 Argentina (25-21, 25-23, 24-26, 25-18)

3:30 AM - Türkiye vs. USA

7:20 am - Germany vs Japan

8am - China vs France

8am - Ukraine vs Netherlands

11:30 am - Bulgaria vs Cuba

11:30 am - Serbia vs Italy

3pm - Iran vs Poland

3:30 pm - Canada vs. Slovenia