Italy champions again after 23 years

Italy crowned their country’s women’s national team’s golden generation with another major victory in international volleyball, triumphing in the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship in Thailand, on Sunday.

The FIVB World Ranking leaders added yet another trophy to their cabinet by prevailing over continental rivals Türkiye 3-2 (25-23, 13-25, 26-24, 19-25, 15-8) in the final held at the Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok to return to the top of the podium in the tournament after 23 years.

The victory in Thailand gave Italy their fourth major international title in just over a year, following their victories at the Volleyball Nations League and the Paris Olympics in 2024 and their repeat as VNL champions just over a month ago. Now undefeated in the 36 matches they played in the last 15 months, the Italians are the first women’s national team to simultaneously hold the Olympic and the world titles since Cuba did it in 2002.

This was their second title and their fourth World Championship medal. The Italians won the tournament for the first time back in 2002 and have now made three consecutive podium appearances after taking silver in 2018 and bronze in 2022.

“This victory is very emotional for us,” head coach Julio Velasco reflected. “After winning the World Championship, the Olympics, and two VNLs, I believe this team will be remembered as a legendary one in the future, like a few others. I’m very proud of them. They won two very difficult matches over the last two days, and they do their best every single day in practice and really deserve everything they’ve achieved.”

Star opposite Paola Egonu bounced back after a somewhat inconsistent performance to her standards against Brazil in the semifinals and led the Italians to the title with 22 points (18 kills, three blocks, one ace).

“I still can’t believe it,” Egonu said after the gold medal match. “I’m really proud of the team and incredibly happy. This is a moment I’ll never forget. It’s probably the last time for some of our players, too, and my heart is full now.”

Outside hitter Myriam Sylla was also impressive, contributing 19 points (14 kills, four blocks, one ace), while Ekaterina Antropova again made a difference off the bench, producing 14 (12 kills, two blocks), many of which in key moments.

The final’s top scorer was Turkish star opposite Melissa Vargas, who tallied an incredible 33 points, with 28 kills, four aces and one block. Captain Eda Erdem also played a very solid match, contributing 19 points, with 15 kills, three blocks and one ace.

Interestingly, blocking was the only area of the game in which the Italians overcame the Turkish, outscoring them by 14 points to ten. Türkiye had the edge in kills (68 to 59) and aces (seven to five), and each team gave up 20 points in errors to their opponents.

Earlier on Sunday, Brazil topped Japan 3-2 (25-12, 25-17, 19-25, 27-29, 18-16) to finish third and claim the last spot on the podium in the 20th edition of the tournament.

The hard-fought triumph against the Japanese earned Brazil their sixth medal in 18 appearances in the event on the country’s Independence Day. They now have four silvers (1994, 2006, 2010, 2022) and two bronzes (2014, 2025).

Less than one day after producing an impressive 29 points against Italy in the semifinals, Brazilian captain Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimarães was even more productive against the Japanese, leading her team with a whopping 35 points (33 kills, one block, one ace). Fellow outside hitter Júlia Bergmann scored 13 (12 kills, one block), while opposite Rosamaria Montibeller added 11, with eight kills and three blocks.

Gabi faced strong competition from Japanese outside hitter Yoshino Sato, who played a critical role in her team’s reaction by registering 34 points (29 kills, three aces, two blocks). Captain Mayu Ishikawa tallied 23 points, all in kills, and opposite Yukiko Wada contributed another 13, with 12 kills and one block.

Brazil’s blocking was again a key factor for the team, which outscored the Japanese in that area of the game by 15 points to six. The Asians made up for the difference with their offense, which generated 75 kills to Brazil’s 68, but giving up twice as many points in errors (26 to 13) was hard to overcome. Each team fired five aces in the match.