A week of waiting, and then it’s time for the 2026 Volleyball Nations League! Ferdinando De Giorgi’s Italy will officially debut in the competition on Wednesday, June 10th in Ottawa, Canada, at 10:00 PM Italian time, when the Azzurri will face France in their Week 1 opener.
The Head Coach has announced the squad list for the first week of matches, which will see Bottolo and his teammates face off against France, Germany, Turkey, and the United States. Last year’s edition ended with a silver medal for the Azzurri, who will aim to improve on that result this year. Below is the list of players called up, followed by the schedule for the first week of training.
The complete 2026 VNL schedule
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 vs. France
Thursday, June 11, 2026, 10:00 PM
Italy vs. Germany
Sunday, June 14, 2026, 1:30 AM
Italy vs. Turkey
Monday, June 15, 2026, 12:00 AM
Italy vs. United States
The 2026 Men’s Volleyball Nations League on TV and streaming
The Italian national team’s VNL matches will be available live on DAZN and the paid streaming platform VBTV, which will broadcast all tournament matches.
VBTV access link: welcome.volleyballworld.tv
