The FIVB (Fédération Internationale de Volleyball) World Championships are well underway, with several teams cementing themselves as top contenders in the pool stages. The initial phase has not quite concluded, but the Round of 16 is just around the corner.
In the world's top indoor volleyball competition, teams like Iran, Japan, Turkey, Tunisia, the United States, Ukraine, Brazil, France and more have come together to put on an absolute show.
With the round of 16 coming so soon, let's take a look at what the pools currently look like, when that round begins, and more.
FIVB World Championships: Expected start date for next round, pool standings and more
The start date for the Round of 16 is September 3. The first match will begin at 18:00 pm local time. There are just two matches scheduled for that day, but many more on the following days.
The round of 16 will continue through September 6 when it will give way to the quarterfinals. This will run through September 8 and the finals will start on September 10 and take two days.
On September 11, the final standings will be announced with the winner, runner-up and other placements becoming clear.
Pool play is currently still ongoing for the next two days. Today has a few important matches, too. Here's what August 29 is scheduled like:
The schedule for August 30 at the World Championships looks like this:
- Brazil vs. Qatar
- Japan vs. Cuba
- France vs. Cameroon
- Mexico vs. Bulgaria
- Slovenia vs. Germany
- Poland vs. United States
Pool play will conclude on August 31 with the following matches:
- Argentina vs. Egypt
- Canada vs. Turkey
- Iran vs. Netherlands
- Serbia vs. Tunisia
- Ukraine vs. Puerto Rico
- Italy vs. China
This will wrap up everything leading into the Round of 16. The remaining teams will then begin playing each other, to eventually crown a winner.
Pool play is not quite over yet, which is why no teams have been announced for the World Championships' Round of 16. Every team theoretically still has a chance of making it into the 16 that will advance.
However, some favorites are beginning to appear. Here are the standings thus far, with a few teams playing spectacularly well thus far.
Pool A:
- Serbia- 6
- Tunisia- 3
- Ukraine- 0
- Puerto Rico- 0
Pool B:
- Brazil- 5
- Cuba- 4
- Japan- 3
- Qatar- 0
Pool C:
- Poland- 6
- United States- 6
- Bulgaria- 0
- Mexico- 0
Pool D:
- France- 5
- Slovenia- 4
- Germany- 3
- Cameroon- 0
Pool E:
- Turkey- 3
- Italy- 3
- Canada- 3
Pool F:
- Netherlands- 5
- Iran- 5
- Argentina- 2
- Egypt- 0
Right now, the overall FIVB World Championships standings have these teams in the top 16, in this order:
- Poland
- Serbia
- Brazil
- Netherlands
- France
- Turkey
- United States
- Iran
- Slovenia
- Cuba
- Tunisia
- Italy
- Germany
- Japan
- Canada
- Argentina
Teams like Ukraine, Bulgaria, Qatar and others are on the outside looking in. Anything can happen with two days left in the competition, but these 16 teams look set to advance to the next round.
Keep an eye on the standings as the final days of the group stage at the World Championships finish up to see exactly who will be moving on.