Follow
The United States now knows the teams it could have to play as it attempts to win the FIVB U21 World Championship for the first time in the nation nation’s history.
With the conclusion of qualification tournaments during the weekend, the remain spots in the bi-annual international tournament field were all but finalized.
The 16-team tournament is comprised of the host nation and nine teams that qualify through continental tournaments, such as the United States earning a berth for winning the 2016 NORCECA Championships. The remaining six bids to the international event are awarded to the remaining teams with the highest FIVB U1 Men’s World Ranking.
Check out the chart below breaking down all the teams in the tournament field and how they qualified for the World Championship.
[Editor’s note: This list does take into account any nations that earned a berth to the event but opted to withdrawal. The FIVB will officially unveil the 16-team field later this summer.]
U21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT FIELD
| Team | How it qualified | World Ranking |
| Argentina | CSV (South American) champion | 2 |
| Brazil | Top South American finish at Pan Am Cup | 4 |
| Canada | At-large bid because of World Ranking | 8 |
| China | AVC (Asian) champion | 3 |
| Cuba | Top North American finish at Pan Am Cup | 13 |
| Czech Republic | Host nation | 35 |
| Egypt | CAVB (African) champion | 11 |
| Iran | AVC (Asian) runner-up | 11 |
| Italy | At-large bid because of World Ranking | 5 |
| Japan | At-large bid because of World Ranking | 14 |
| Poland | CEV (European) Pool F champion | 7 |
| Russia | At-large bid because of World Ranking | 1 |
| Slovenia | At-large bid because of World Ranking | 10 |
| Turkey | At-large bid because of World Ranking | 6 |
| Ukraine | CEV (European) Pool E champion | 15 |
| United States | NORCECA (North American) champion | 9 |
Howcan there be 2 AVC champions? Diff year?
Typo on our part. Iran was the AVC runner-up. Story is updated.