Lausanne, Switzerland, June 27, 2019 - Pool play at the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League is down to its business end, as five tickets to the Final Six of the tournament remain up for grabs during this last weekend of action before the finals in Chicago, from July 10 to 14.
Brazil are poised to seal their ticket already on the first day of the closing weekend, when they host France at home in Brasilia - though the 2018 VNL silver medallists are also in need of the win and points.
Iran are also well positioned, but lost to France in their last match at home, following a seven-match winning streak, and now need to beat Serbia, Bulgaria or Final Six hosts USA in their last remaining matches in Plovdiv.
USA themselves are already automatically qualified for the finals as hosts of the event.
Defending champions Russia are also in position for one of the Final Six tickets, as are Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallists Italy, but they'll both need to be on top of their game if they're to fend off reigning world champions Poland who are at their heels.
There's battles to be played at the bottom of the table too, with Australia and Portugal both trying to avoid relegation. The Volleyroos have an edge over Portugal in that they play this last weekend at home in Brisbane, hosting Russia, China and Argentina. The Iberian side travel to Leipzig to face Germany, Japan and Poland.
The last of the Challenger teams of this VNL (which also includes Canada) will be replaced for the 2020 edition with the winner of the Challenger Cup which takes place in Ljubljana where Slovenia host Belarus, Chile, Cuba, Egypt and Turkey from July 3 to 7.
Quick links - Volleyball:
FIVB.com - Volleyball Nations League
FIVB.com - Volleyball
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