2023 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League

The 2023 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League was the fifth edition of the FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League, an annual men's international volleyball tournament. The competition was held from 6 June to 23 July 2023, and the final round took place in Ergo Arena, Gdańsk, Poland.[1][2]Following the results of 2022 Nations League and 2022 Challenger Cup, Australia were replaced by debutants Cuba in this edition.[3]Finals host and home team Poland won their first VNL title after defeating United States in four sets.[4] It was the United States' third silver medal. Japan deafeated Italy in a tie-breaker match and claimed the bronze medal.[5] Paweł Zatorski from Poland named the MVP of the tournament.[6]

2023 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League
Gdańsk, host city of the final round
Tournament details
Host nation Poland
CityGdańsk (final round)
Dates6 June – 23 July 2023
Teams16 (from 4 confederations)
Venue(s)7 (in 7 host cities)
Champions Poland (1st title)
Runners-up United States
Third place Japan
Fourth place Italy
Tournament awards
MVPPoland Paweł Zatorski
Best SetterUnited States Micah Christenson
Best OH
Best MB
Best OPPPoland Łukasz Kaczmarek
Best LiberoPoland Paweł Zatorski
Tournament statistics
Matches played104
Attendance318,294 (3,061 per match)
Official website
Volleyball Nations League

Qualification

Sixteen teams qualified for the competition. Ten of them qualified as core teams which cannot face relegation. Other six teams were selected as challenger teams which could be relegated from the tournament.[7][8] Cuba replaced Australia after winning the 2022 Challenger Cup.[3]

Country Confederation Designation Previous appearances Previous best performance
Total First Last
 Argentina CSV Core team 4 2018 2022 7th place (2019)
 Brazil CSV Core team 4 2018 2022 Champions (2021)
 Bulgaria CEV Challenger team 4 2018 2022 11th place (2018)
 Canada NORCECA Challenger team 4 2018 2022 7th place (2018)
 China AVC Challenger team 3 2018 2022 13th place (2022)
 Cuba NORCECA Challenger team 0 None None
 France CEV Core team 4 2018 2022 Champions (2022)
 Germany CEV Core team 4 2018 2022 9th place (2018)
 Iran AVC Core team 4 2018 2022 5th place (2019)
 Italy CEV Core team 4 2018 2022 4th place (2022)
 Japan AVC Core team 4 2018 2022 5th place (2022)
 Netherlands CEV Challenger team 2 2021 2022 8th place (2022)
 Poland CEV Core team 4 2018 2022 Runners-up (2021)
 Serbia CEV Core team 4 2018 2022 5th place (2018)
 Slovenia CEV Challenger team 2 2021 2022 4th place (2021)
 United States NORCECA Core team 4 2018 2022 Runners-up (2019, 2022)

Format

Preliminary round

The format of play is the same as edition 2022. The new format will see 16 men's teams competing in pools of 8 teams during the pool phase. Each team plays 12 matches during the pool stage. Eight teams will then move into the final knockout phase of the competition.[8]

Final round

The VNL Finals will see the top eight teams moving directly to the knockout phase which will consist of eight matches in total: four quarterfinals, two semi-finals and the bronze and gold medal matches.[8]

Final 8 direct elimination formula:

  • The first ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the eighth ranked team, the second ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the seventh ranked team, the third ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the sixth ranked team, the fourth ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the fifth ranked team.
  • The national team of the hosting territory of the event will have a guaranteed berth for the Final round. If the host nation does not finish in the top eight in Preliminary round, they will replace the eighth place team and play as the eighth seed.

Pool composition

The overview of pools was released on 11 November 2022.[1][9]

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Pool 1
Canada		 Pool 2
Japan		 Pool 3
Netherlands		 Pool 4
France		 Pool 5
United States		 Pool 6
Philippines

 Canada
 Cuba
 United States
 Germany
 Argentina
 Netherlands
 Italy
 Brazil

 Japan
 Slovenia
 France
 Poland
 Serbia
 China
 Bulgaria
 Iran

 Netherlands
 United States
 Poland
 Iran
 Italy
 Germany
 Serbia
 China

 France
 Cuba
 Brazil
 Japan
 Slovenia
 Bulgaria
 Argentina
 Canada

 United States
 Iran
 Argentina
 Bulgaria
 France
 Germany
 Serbia
 Cuba

 Japan
 Poland
 China
 Italy
 Slovenia
 Netherlands
 Brazil
 Canada

Venues

Preliminary round
Week 1
Pool 1 Pool 2
Ottawa, Canada Nagoya, Japan
TD Place Arena Nippon Gaishi Hall
Capacity: 9,500 Capacity: 10,000
Week 2
Pool 3 Pool 4
Rotterdam, Netherlands Orléans, France
Rotterdam Ahoy CO'MET Arena
Capacity: 16,426 Capacity: 10,000
Week 3
Pool 5 Pool 6
Anaheim, United States Pasay, Philippines
Anaheim Convention Center SM Mall of Asia Arena
Capacity: 7,500 Capacity: 15,000

Final round
All matches
Gdańsk, Poland
Ergo Arena
Capacity: 11,409

Competition schedule
●Preliminary round ●Final round
Week 1
6–11 Jun		 Week 2
20–25 Jun		 Week 3
4–9 Jul		 Week 4
19–23 Jul
32 matches 32 matches 32 matches 8 matches

Pool standing procedure
  1. Total number of victories (matches won, matches lost)
  2. In the event of a tie, the following first tiebreaker will apply: The teams will be ranked by the most points gained per match as follows:
    • Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 points for the winner, 0 points for the loser
    • Match won 3–2: 2 points for the winner, 1 point for the loser
    • Match forfeited: 3 points for the winner, 0 points (0–25, 0–25, 0–25) for the loser
  3. If teams are still tied after examining the number of victories and points gained, then the FIVB will examine the results in order to break the tie in the following order:
    • Sets quotient: if two or more teams are tied on the number of points gained, they will be ranked by the quotient resulting from the division of the number of all sets won by the number of all sets lost.
    • Points quotient: if the tie persists based on the sets quotient, the teams will be ranked by the quotient resulting from the division of all points scored by the total of points lost during all sets.
    • If the tie persists based on the points quotient, the tie will be broken based on the team that won the match of the Round Robin Phase between the tied teams. When the tie in points quotient is between three or more teams, these teams ranked taking into consideration only the matches involving the teams in question.

Squads
Main article: 2023 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League squads

Preliminary round

Ranking

Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification or relegation
1  United States 12 10 2 31 33 7 4.714 986 871 1.132 Final round
2  Japan 12 10 2 27 31 16 1.938 1109 1034 1.073
3  Poland[lower-alpha 1] 12 10 2 25 30 19 1.579 1108 1057 1.048 Final round
4  Italy 12 9 3 26 28 15 1.867 1016 906 1.121 Final round
5  Argentina 12 9 3 26 32 18 1.778 1184 1092 1.084
6  Brazil 12 8 4 25 30 18 1.667 1108 1033 1.073
7  Slovenia 12 8 4 25 27 17 1.588 1036 997 1.039
8  France 12 6 6 18 23 21 1.095 1046 1007 1.039
9  Serbia 12 6 6 16 23 23 1.000 1045 1056 0.990
10  Netherlands 12 5 7 17 22 24 0.917 1028 1054 0.975
11  Germany 12 3 9 10 16 28 0.571 963 1036 0.930
12  Canada 12 3 9 9 15 31 0.484 983 1074 0.915
13  Cuba 12 3 9 8 15 33 0.455 1023 1119 0.914
14  Iran 12 2 10 11 16 31 0.516 995 1073 0.927
15  Bulgaria 12 2 10 8 13 32 0.406 957 1045 0.916
16  China 12 2 10 6 12 33 0.364 941 1074 0.876 2023 Challenger Cup
Source: VNL 2023 Preliminary Phase
Notes:
  1. Qualified as hosts

Pool 1
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
6 Jun16:30Italy 0–3 Argentina22–2523–2518–25  63–75P2 Report
6 Jun20:00Canada 3–2 Cuba25–2126–2825–2122–2515–13113–108P2 Report
7 Jun16:30United States 3–0 Netherlands25–1925–2325–21  75–63P2 Report
7 Jun20:00Brazil 3–1 Germany26–2425–1619–2525–15 95–80P2 Report
8 Jun11:00Netherlands 3–0 Cuba28–2625–2325–18  78–67P2 Report
8 Jun16:30Italy 0–3 United States15–2518–2519–25  52–75P2 Report
8 Jun20:00Argentina 2–3 Brazil25–1919–2525–2323–2513–15105–107P2 Report
9 Jun11:00Netherlands 3–0 Germany25–2033–3125–21  83–72P2 Report
9 Jun16:30Italy 3–1 Cuba25–2025–1920–2525–18 95–82P2 Report
9 Jun20:00Canada 1–3 Argentina21–2525–2121–2516–25 83–96P2 Report
10 Jun13:00Germany 1–3 Italy23–2518–2527–2519–25 87–100P2 Report
10 Jun16:30Brazil 2–3 Cuba16–2525–2229–2722–2518–20110–119P2 Report
10 Jun20:00Canada 0–3 United States22–2520–2520–25  62–75P2 Report
11 Jun11:00Argentina 3–2 Netherlands34–3625–2025–1720–2515–10119–108P2 Report
11 Jun14:30United States 1–3 Brazil19–2525–2115–2521–25 80–96P2 Report
11 Jun18:00Canada 1–3 Germany25–2017–2521–2521–25 84–95P2 Report

Pool 2
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
6 Jun16:10Bulgaria 2–3 China20–2525–2121–2525–209–15100–106P2 Report
6 Jun19:40Japan 3–0 Iran25–1625–2225–19  75–57P2 Report
7 Jun15:00Slovenia 3–1 Serbia31–2919–2525–2025–21 100–95P2 Report
7 Jun18:00Poland 3–1 France25–2318–2535–3325–15 103–96P2 Report
8 Jun12:00Slovenia 0–3 Bulgaria24–2623–2517–25  64–76P2 Report
8 Jun15:00Serbia 3–0 China34–3225–1625–20  84–68P2 Report
8 Jun18:00Poland 3–2 Iran23–2523–2525–2125–1515–13111–99P2 Report
9 Jun13:10China 1–3 France20–2525–2316–2517–25 78–98P2 Report
9 Jun16:10Poland 3–2 Bulgaria25–2725–1922–2525–2215–11112–104P2 Report
9 Jun19:40Japan 3–1 Serbia22–2525–2125–2325–20 97–89P2 Report
10 Jun12:40France 1–3 Slovenia23–2518–2525–2122–25 88–96P2 Report
10 Jun15:40Iran 3–1 China23–2525–1525–2025–14 98–74P2 Report
10 Jun19:10Japan 3–0 Bulgaria25–2225–2126–24  76–67P2 Report
11 Jun12:40Slovenia 3–0 Iran25–1925–2325–23  75–65P2 Report
11 Jun15:40Serbia 3–0 Poland25–2125–1925–14  75–54P2 Report
11 Jun19:10Japan 3–1 France25–2725–2225–2125–20 100–90P2 Report

Pool 3
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
20 Jun13:00Iran 3–0 Germany25–2326–2425–16  76–63P2 Report
20 Jun16:30United States 3–1 Serbia22–2525–1925–1925–21 97–84P2 Report
20 Jun20:00Netherlands 3–0 China25–1925–2225–21  75–62P2 Report
21 Jun13:00Iran 0–3 Italy19–2516–2524–26  59–76P2 Report
21 Jun16:30United States 3–0 China28–2625–2225–18  78–66P2 Report
21 Jun20:00Germany 2–3 Poland21–2525–2214–2525–1710–1595–104P2 Report
22 Jun13:00China 0–3 Italy13–2519–2524–26  56–76P2 Report
22 Jun16:30Serbia 3–1 Germany25–2120–2525–2325–23 95–92P2 Report
22 Jun20:00Netherlands 2–3 Poland25–2218–2525–1822–2511–15101–105P2 Report
23 Jun16:30Iran 0–3 United States22–2518–2523–25  63–75P2 Report
23 Jun20:00Serbia 0–3 Italy11–2521–2520–25  52–75P2 Report
24 Jun13:00Poland 0–3 United States22–2518–2519–25  59–75P2 Report
24 Jun17:00Netherlands 3–2 Iran16–2525–1621–2525–1715–10102–93P2 Report
24 Jun20:30China 3–1 Germany23–2525–1825–1925–21 98–83P2 Report
25 Jun12:30Italy 1–3 Poland19–2526–2825–1820–25 90–96P2 Report
25 Jun16:00Netherlands 2–3 Serbia25–2221–2525–2133–359–15113–118P2 Report

Pool 4
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
20 Jun13:00Japan 3–1 Canada25–2225–1724–2625–14 99–79P2 Report
20 Jun17:00Argentina 1–3 Slovenia25–2121–2521–2521–25 88–96P2 Report
20 Jun20:30Brazil 3–0 Bulgaria25–2225–1725–15  75–54P2 Report
21 Jun13:00Japan 3–0 Cuba25–2125–1625–21  75–58P2 Report
21 Jun17:00Slovenia 3–0 Canada25–2325–2225–14  75–59P2 Report
21 Jun20:30Argentina 3–1 France22–2526–2425–2125–20 98–90P2 Report
22 Jun13:00Japan 3–2 Brazil25–2325–2118–2522–2518–16108–110P2 Report
22 Jun17:00Canada 3–1 Bulgaria22–2525–2325–2225–20 97–90P2 Report
22 Jun20:30Slovenia 3–1 Cuba22–2525–1525–1625–19 97–75P2 Report
23 Jun16:30Argentina 3–0 Bulgaria25–1825–2125–22  75–61P2 Report
23 Jun20:30France 3–0 Cuba25–1825–2025–20  75–58P2 Report
24 Jun13:00Japan 3–2 Argentina25–1825–2231–3322–2515–12118–110P2 Report
24 Jun17:00Brazil 3–1 Slovenia23–2525–2126–2425–21 99–91P2 Report
24 Jun20:30Canada 0–3 France17–2521–2521–25  59–75P2 Report
25 Jun13:00Bulgaria 2–3 Cuba25–2319–2520–2525–1616–18105–107P2 Report
25 Jun17:00Brazil 3–1 France25–2026–2419–2525–23 95–92P2 Report

Pool 5
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
4 Jul13:00Argentina 3–1 Serbia19–2525–1625–1925–18 94–78P2 Report
4 Jul16:30Iran 0–3 France18–2522–2519–25  59–75P2 Report
5 Jul17:00Germany 3–0 Bulgaria25–2225–1825–22  75–62P2 Report
5 Jul20:30United States 3–0 Cuba27–2525–1725–15  77–57P2 Report
6 Jul13:30Argentina 3–0 Germany25–2325–1825–17  75–58P2 Report
6 Jul17:00Serbia 3–2 Cuba19–2525–2325–2122–2515–11106–105P2 Report
6 Jul20:30Bulgaria 3–2 Iran21–2525–2122–2525–2215–11108–104P2 Report
7 Jul13:30Serbia 1–3 France25–2023–2520–2526–28 94–98P2 Report
7 Jul17:00Cuba 0–3 Germany23–2523–2522–25  68–75P2 Report
7 Jul20:30United States 2–3 Argentina18–2525–2325–2341–4312–15121–129P2 Report
8 Jul13:30Bulgaria 0–3 Serbia19–2522–2522–25  63–75P2 Report
8 Jul17:00Argentina 3–2 Iran25–1928–3027–2925–2015–11120–109P2 Report
8 Jul20:30United States 3–0 France25–2327–2527–25  79–73P2 Report
9 Jul13:30Cuba 3–2 Iran25–2226–2825–2328–3015–10119–113P2 Report
9 Jul17:00France 3–1 Germany21–2525–2025–2225–21 96–88P2 Report
9 Jul20:30United States 3–0 Bulgaria29–2725–1925–21  79–67P2 Report

Pool 6
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
4 Jul15:00Brazil 1–3 Italy25–2320–2515–2521–25 81–98P2 Report
4 Jul19:00Japan 3–2 China24–2625–2321–2525–2315–12110–109P2 Report
5 Jul15:00Canada 1–3 Netherlands22–2522–2525–1718–25 87–92P2 Report
5 Jul19:00Poland 3–2 Slovenia29–3121–2525–2025–2015–13115–109P2 Report
6 Jul11:00Brazil 3–0 Netherlands25–2125–1525–20  75–56P2 Report
6 Jul15:00Canada 2–3 Italy14–2525–2320–2525–239–1593–111P2 Report
6 Jul19:00China 1–3 Slovenia21–2520–2526–2423–25 90–99P2 Report
7 Jul11:00Poland 3–1 Brazil25–2322–2525–2125–21 97–90P2 Report
7 Jul15:00Slovenia 0–3 Italy13–2522–2517–25  52–75P2 Report
7 Jul19:00Japan 3–1 Netherlands25–1926–2423–2525–17 99–85P2 Report
8 Jul11:00Brazil 3–0 China25–1925–1725–17  75–53P2 Report
8 Jul15:00Poland 3–0 Canada25–2125–2327–25  77–69P2 Report
8 Jul19:00Japan 1–3 Italy27–2926–2825–2320–25 98–105P2 Report
9 Jul11:00China 1–3 Canada25–2321–2517–2518–25 81–98P2 Report
9 Jul15:00Slovenia 3–0 Netherlands25–2032–3025–22  82–72P2 Report
9 Jul19:00Japan 0–3 Poland17–2519–2518–25  54–75P2 Report

Final round
 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
          
 
19 July
 
 
 United States3
 
22 July
 
 France2
 
 United States3
 
19 July
 
 Italy0
 
 Italy3
 
23 July
 
 Argentina0
 
 United States1
 
20 July
 
 Poland3
 
 Japan3
 
22 July
 
 Slovenia0
 
 Japan1
 
20 July
 
 Poland3 3rd place match
 
 Poland3
 
23 July
 
 Brazil0
 
 Italy2
 
 
 Japan3
 

Quarterfinals
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
19 Jul17:00United States 3–2 France25–2125–1817–2524–2615–9106–99P2 Report
19 Jul20:00Italy 3–0 Argentina25–1725–1325–14  75–44P2 Report
20 Jul17:00Japan 3–0 Slovenia26–2425–1825–22  76–64P2 Report
20 Jul20:00Poland 3–0 Brazil26–2425–2125–20  76–65P2 Report

Semifinals
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
22 Jul17:00Japan 1–3 Poland25–1926–2817–2521–25 89–97P2 Report
22 Jul20:00United States 3–0 Italy25–1925–1825–19  75–56P2 Report

3rd place match
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
23 Jul17:00Japan 3–2 Italy25–1825–2317–2517–2515–999–100P2 Report

Final
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
23 Jul20:00Poland 3–1 United States25–2324–2625–1825–18 99–85P2 Report

Final standing

Awards

Statistics leaders

Preliminary round

Statistics leaders correct at the end of preliminary round.[10]

Final round

Statistics leaders correct at the end of final round.[11]

Controversies

Iran team's visa issues in the United States

After the announcement of the host venues and the games schedule, the president of the Iranian Volleyball Federation sent a letter to the FIVB expressing their concerns about the fact that the Iranian team is scheduled to play their games on the third week of the VNL in the USA territory. They stated that five members of the Iranian national team required further examination and additional documentation for visa issuance. The Iranian authorities also expressed their desire to host the USA's leg instead, or they might boycott the leg by not sending anyone to the USA.[12]

The passports of the Iranian national team members were resubmitted to the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey for a visa issuance. After necessary checks, visas were issued for the 12 players, with only four days left until the start of Week 3 of the VNL. However, five players including Amin Esmaeilnezhad were not granted visas. This situation also happened with the coach of the Iranian national team, Behrouz Ataei, who presented an incomplete documentation. After the second week round in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the rejected five players had to return to Tehran.[13]

After failed negotiations with the American authorities, the FIVB Executive Committee specifically examined the question of the visas for the Iranian team and approved an unprecedented decision. If the United States government does not issue the visas to the key members of the Iranian team, the points of Iran and its opponents in the third week of the games would not be accounted for on the world rankings, but the results of these games would count exclusively for the tournament.[14]

See also

Notes
    1. Best scorers determined by scored points from spike, block and serve.
    2. Best attackers determined by successful spikes.
    3. Best blockers determined by the stuff blocks, faults and rebounds.
    4. Best servers determined by aces, faults and hits.
    5. Best setters determined by running setts, faults and still sets.
    6. Best diggers determined by successful digs, faults and receptions.
    7. Best receivers determined by efficient receptions, faults and serve receptions.

    References
    1. "Volleyball's Best Ready To Grace Venues Across The Globe As Arenas Confirmed For VNL 2023". FIVB. 11 November 2022.
    2. "United States and Poland to host Volleyball Nations League Finals in 2023". Volleyball World. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
    3. "Croatia and Cuba secure Volleyball Challenger Cup titles". Volleyball World. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
    4. "Poland claim historic VNL gold in front of their home fans". Volleyball World. 23 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
    5. "Japan beat the world champions and make it to the VNL podium". Volleyball World. 23 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
    6. "Zatorksi becomes the first libero to earn the VNL MVP award". Volleyball World. 23 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
    7. volleyballworld.com. "VNL Qualification System". volleyballworld.com. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
    8. "VNL 2023 Competition Formula". Volleyball World. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
    9. "Host cities and pools". Volleyball World. 11 November 2022.
    10. "Men's Statistics – FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2023". volleyballworld. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
    11. "Men's Finals Statistics – FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2023". volleyballworld. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
    12. "Negotiation and diplomacy of Davorzani against the actions of the United States of America". volleyball.ir (in Persian). Retrieved 1 July 2023.
    13. "Iran is in Anaheim with 12 players and without a coach". volleyball.ir (in Persian). Retrieved 1 July 2023.
    14. "Iran agreed with the points of the World Federation in the third week". volleyball.ir (in Persian). 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.