Poles in tears, gold medals around their necks. This is more than just a match.
Saturday's semifinal match of the 2025 VNL tournament in China will determine whether Poland or Brazil will play for gold at this year's edition. It's worth noting that Poland and Brazil also faced off in the Nations League medal matches. In 2019, Poland prevailed (3-0), claiming bronze, while in 2021, Brazil prevailed (1-3), winning the grand final.
Nations League: Polish-Brazilian battles, including matches for World Cup goldMoreover, the two teams also faced off during the last Olympic tournament. In Paris, the Poles prevailed, winning the group stage after a five-set thriller.
However, if we're looking for the matches that Polish fans remember best in the context of the rivalry with Brazil, we have to go back a bit further: the World Cup finals in 2014 and 2018. Poland had the bad memories of 2006 behind them, when they sensationally reached the World Cup final in Japan, only to be defeated by the mighty Brazil.
However, as subsequent history has shown, Poland won two consecutive opportunities to play for World Championship gold. In 2014, during a tournament held in Poland, Mariusz Wlazły was named MVP of the entire competition.
Four years later, the Poles defended the trophy at the World Championships in Bulgaria and Italy. At that time, the team, led by coach Vital Heynen, featured Bartosz Kurek, who was returning to the top level. It was "Kuraś" who led the team to success, winning the tournament MVP award.
Interestingly, the Brazil-Poland match has already taken place this season. At the tournament in Chicago, the Brazilian team won 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 21-25, 28-26). However, the Poles did not have all their key players in their ranks. Kamil Semeniuk had the best performance for the Polish side, scoring 17 points. Artur Szalpuk also chipped in with 15 points.
The semifinal between Poland and Brazil will take place on Saturday (August 2nd). The match kicks off at 1:00 PM CET. Earlier, Italy defeated Slovenia 3-1, meaning the world champions will play for gold at the 2025 VNL on Sunday (August 3rd). Slovenia will now face the bronze medalist in the consolation final.
All matches of the VNL 2025 men's volleyball final tournament will be broadcast on Polsat Sport. Additionally, matches of the Polish national team will be included in the schedule of the open-source Polsat channel. Online broadcasts will be available on the Polsat Box Go platform.
Read also: Iga Świątek vs. Germany? The Polish player's statistics are simply unbelievable. Read also: Kewin Sasak in Bartosz Kurek's shoes. This is the hero of the Polish national team.
Wprost
