The Italian National Team’s adventure in the 2026 Volleyball Nations League kicks off tomorrow: Ferdinando De Giorgi’s team, after winning silver in the last edition, will begin its journey with Week 1, facing off in Ottawa, Canada, France, Germany, Turkey, and the United States. The opening match against France will be on Wednesday, June 10th at 10:00 PM Italian time (live on DAZN and VBTV).
The three weeks of matches will then see the Azzurri travel to Ljubljana, Slovenia, from June 24th to 30th, and then to Osaka, Japan, from July 15th to 21st. The final round of the 2026 VNL, which will decide the title, will take place in China, from July 29th to August 4th.
Below are the players called up for Week 1 and the schedule for the first round of matches for the Italian National Team.
The 14 players called up for Week 1
(The teams listed refer to the 2025/26 season)
Setters: 2. Paolo Porro (Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza), 26. Mattia Boninfante (Cucine Lube Civitanova).
Middle Blockers: 20. Pardo Mati (Valsa Group Modena), 18. Giovanni Sanguinetti (Valsa Group Modena), 25. Giovanni Gargiulo (Cucine Lube Civitanova), 30. Leandro Mosca (Vero Volley Monza).
Spikers: 9. Francesco Sani (Rana Verona), 12. Mattia Bottolo (Cucine Lube Civitanova), 17. Luca Porro (Valsa Group Modena), 24. Mattia Orioli (Sonepar Padova).
Opposites: 11. Kamil Rychlicki (Zaksa Kedzierzyn-Kozle – POL), 23. Alessandro Bovolenta (Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza)
Frees: 4. Gabriele Laurenzano (Itas Trentino), 28. Domenico Pace (Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza).
All the Azzurri matches will be broadcast live on DAZN and VBTV.
Week 1 (Ottawa, Canada) – Pool 1
Wednesday, June 10, 2026, 10:00 PM
Italy – France
Thursday, June 11, 2026, 10:00 PM
Italy – Germany
Sunday, June 14, 2026, 1:30 AM
Italy – Turkey
Monday, June 15, 2026, 12:00 AM
Italy – United States
