FIVB MWCH '25: Poland cruises past Qatar to advance to Round of 16

World No. 1 Poland rolled to a 25-21, 25-14, 25-19 win over No. 22 Qatar to remain unbeaten and advance to the next round after Day 4 of the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship on Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Poles needed just 69 minutes, behind a balanced attack led by Kamil Semeniuk’s 13 points on 11 hits and two aces, to finish off the Qataris. Poland improved to 2-0 in Pool B following their 34-32, 25-15, 25-19 victory over Romania.

Poland, also the 2025 VNL champion, hardly required a huge output from super spiker Wilfredo Leon, who had only seven points in limited play. Team captain Bartosz Kurek saw minimal action as well.

Still, Poland proved too strong, with VNL MVP Jacub Kochanowski and Kewin Sasak each scoring eight points. Marcin Comenda orchestrated Poland’s high-octane offense, delivering 27 sets to fuel 37 attacks.

“The game went as expected. We wanted to raise the level, and we did. We didn’t have any major problems during the match,” said Kochanowski, aiming to lead Poland’s redemption in Manila after a runner-up finish to Italy at home in the 2022 World Championship.

Papemaguette Diagne and Nikola Vasic led Qatar (0-2) with eight points each after their previous 18-25, 23-25, 28-26, 23-25 defeat to The Netherlands.

With Poland’s win, fellow unbeaten The Netherlands (2-0) also advanced to the next stage. The two teams will battle for the top seed in Pool B on Wednesday at the same venue at 6 p.m.

Earlier, the Dutch secured a gutsy 25-23, 26-24, 26-24 sweep of Romania, which, along with Qatar, was eliminated after winless campaigns. Romania and Qatar will play for a graceful exit on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

At the Big Dome, Turkey (2-0) and Canada (2-0) claimed the top spots in Pool G to also advance to the Round of 16, defeating Libya (0-2) and Japan (0-2), respectively. Turkey overcame Libya, 25-18, 23-25, 25-14, 25-16, while Canada added to the woes of Filipino crowd favorite Japan, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22, en route to Japan’s surprising early elimination.

Meanwhile, at the Mall of Asia Arena, USA (Pool D) and Bulgaria (Pool E) extended their perfect runs to secure Round of 16 berths. World No. 5 USA defeated Portugal, 25-19, 25-17, 25-22, for a 2-0 record in Pool D, while Bulgaria stunned world No. 6 Slovenia in a marathon, 25-19, 25-14, 18-25, 23-25, 15-13, for a similar 2-0 record in Pool E.

Cuba and Germany bounced back with convincing wins over Colombia, 25-22, 25-21, 25-20, and Chile, 25-17, 25-23, 25-21, respectively. Cuba, following a shocking loss to Portugal, improved to 1-1 in Pool D to stay in contention, while Germany (1-1) avenged its defeat to Bulgaria to remain competitive in Pool E. DANNY SIMON