The debut in the Volleyball Nations League 2025 is approaching for the Italian National Team coached by Ferdinando De Giorgi who, having flown to Canada for the commitments of Week 1, will play on Wednesday 11 June (5:00 pm Italian time) against Bulgaria in the first match of the competition.
The last precedent against the Bulgarian team dates back to 20 June 2024: on that occasion, in Ljubljana (Slovenia), the Azzurri won 3-0 in the opening match of Week 3 of the VNL, a success that opened the doors to the Final Eight for the Italian National Team.
In addition to Bulgaria, Italy will have to face Germany on Canadian soil (Thursday at 10:30 pm), France (in the night between Friday and Saturday, at 2:00 am) and, finally, Argentina (Sunday at 5:00 pm).
There will be five athletes making their absolute debut in official competitions for Francesco Sani, Giovanni Gargiulo, Kamil Rychlicki, Mattia Boninfante and Domenico Pace.
In Week 2, from 25 to 30 June, the Azzurri will be in Chicago (USA) against Poland, China, Brazil and the United States, while in the third and final week they will face Serbia, Ukraine, Slovenia and the Netherlands from 16 to 20 July.
Week 1 (Quebec City, Canada) – Pool 1
Mercoledì 11 giugno 2025, ore 17.00
Bulgaria – Italia
Giovedì 12 giugno 2025, ore 22.30
Germania – Italia
Sabato 14 giugno 2025, ore 2.00
Francia – Italia
Domenica 15 giugno 2025, ore 17.00
Argentina – Italia
I 14 convocati per la Week 1
(Le squadre specificate fanno riferimento alla stagione sportiva 2024/25)
Palleggiatori: Simone Giannelli (Sir Susa Vim Perugia), Mattia Boninfante (Cucine Lube Civitanova).
Centrali: Giovanni Gargiulo (Cucine Lube Civitanova), Lorenzo Cortesia (Rana Verona), Giovanni Sanguinetti (Valsa Group Modena), Simone Anzani (Valsa Group Modena).
Schiacciatori: Mattia Bottolo (Cucine Lube Civitanova), Francesco Recine (Toray Arrows Shizuoka), Francesco Sani (Rana Verona), Luca Porro (Sonepar Padova).
Opposti: Yuri Romanò (Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza), Kamil Rychlicki (Itas Trentino).
Liberi: Gabriele Laurenzano (Itas Trentino), Domenico Pace (Cisterna Volley).
