In the early morning of July 1, the World Men's Volleyball League finals came to an end, and the French team defeated France 3-1 to win the championship, becoming the biggest upset in this league. The final rankings were also released, with Japan second, Poland third, and Slovenia fourth. It was very surprising that Olympic champions Brazil and the United States were ranked 7th and 12th respectively.
1st place, France. France defeated world No. 1 Poland 3-2 in the semi-finals and world No. 2 Japan 3-1 in the final. France ranked 6th in the group stage and advanced to the finals, and the performance was very average, but I didn't expect to open the road to a big explosion in the finals, and no one expected France to win the championship before this league.
2nd place, Japan. The Japanese team ended up finishing in second place, the most improved of all the teams. The Japanese team's offense has the duo of Yuki Ishikawa and Yushi Nishida, and the overall defense is leaky, with a pass to the top in the world, and the only thing that is slightly worse is blocking the net because of height restrictions. The Japanese team also made a big breakthrough and finally finished in second place, which is not regrettable.
3rd place, Poland. As the world No. 1, Poland still has some regrets in this competition, and it is a pity to lose 2-3 to France in the semifinals. Finishing third in the end is also an incentive for them, and they are still the favourites to win the championship.
4th place, Slovenia. Slovenia is the dark horse of this league, ranking first in the group stage and finishing fourth in the finals, both of which set the best record in the team's history.
5th place, Italy. As a world veteran powerhouse and world champion, it is a pity that the Italian team did not finish in the top four. The Italian team is now lacking super scorers, and the key ball ability still needs to be improved.
6th place, Canada. Canada is also the big dark horse in this competition, it was a team that did not enter the quarterfinals before, and it is a big breakthrough to be able to enter the quarterfinals this time, and finally beat a number of strong teams to rank 6th, which is also a big breakthrough.
7th place, Brazil. Brazil is very low in the rankings, which is very surprising, and it is also the strongest team that has regressed the most in this competition. Brazil is now in the midst of a transition between the old and the new, and it needs to be spent as soon as possible in order to shine at the Games.
8th place, Argentina. Argentina retained their status as a traditional powerhouse and reached the quarter-finals and finished eighth, a ranking in line with their current strength.
In 9th to 16th place are Cuba, Serbia, Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Iran and Turkey. Cuba has been away from the international arena for many years, and this year's return to the league is still a bit uncomfortable and not playing at their best. The U.S. was the most surprising performer, with the biggest drop from Olympic champion to world No. 12.