Poland’s men’s national volleyball team will learn its preliminary-round opponents for the 2027 FIVB World Championship during a ceremony hosted inside a UNESCO-listed salt mine in Lesser Poland, Przegląd Sportowy reported.
The Polish Volleyball Federation selected the subterranean site to unveil the tournament groups, following previous host venues like Warsaw’s Congress Hall in 2014 and the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in 2017.
The International Volleyball Federation will use a serpentine distribution method to populate eight four-team groups for the tournament, according to tournament documents cited by Przegląd Sportowy. Sixteen squads receive assignments based on the global FIVB rankings.
Poland enters as the top-ranked host nation in Group A, while reigning world powerhouse Italy takes the second seed in Group B. The serpentine system snakes through the rankings before reversing direction at the eighth and ninth positions.
Przegląd Sportowy reported that Turkiye enters Group A alongside Poland as the 17th-ranked team in the tournament field. The ranking adjustment occurred after third-ranked Russia withdrew from the competition.
The preliminary groups pair Italy with Canada in Group B, the United States with Belgium in Group C, and Japan with Argentina in Group D. Brazil draws Cuba in Group E, Slovenia meets Ukraine in Group F, and France faces Germany in Group G.
Group H features ninth-ranked Bulgaria and tenth-ranked Finland, creating a direct matchup for Poland’s side of the bracket in the round of 16, according to Przegląd Sportowy.
Two lower-tier pots will complete the remaining group berths. Pot one contains Serbia, Iran, the Czech Republic, Greece, Romania, the Netherlands, Mexico, and South Korea, while pot two includes Puerto Rico, Denmark, Chile, Egypt, Estonia, Tunisia, Cameroon, and Algeria.
Group stage matches will take place across multiple Polish cities, utilizing the renovated Urania Hall in Olsztyn, Spodek in Katowice, and Ergo Arena in Gdańsk, where Poland will play its Group A fixtures, Przegląd Sportowy reported.
The tournament advances to Łódź for the round of 16 and quarterfinals before the medal rounds shift to Tauron Arena in Kraków.
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