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Nothing will come easy for the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team in the opening round of the FIVB U19 World Championship.
Two of the top-five teams in the world rankings will compete along with the United States in Pool D at the bi-annual international tournament.
Both Russia at No. 3 in the rankings and South Korea at No. 4 were selected to Pool D during the pool drawings held earlier this week. The United States, which is ranked No. 12 in the world rankings, will be the third-highest ranked team in the five-team pool.
Along with these three countries, the 2018 U19 African champions Nigeria and the Dominican Republic will compete in Pool D.
The opening round of the World Championship consists of every team playing four pool-play matches.
The top-four teams in each of the four pools at the end of the round robin will qualify to the Round of 16. The Round of 16 and subsequent rounds are single elimination.
The United States earned its World Championship berth after winning the silver medal at the NORCECA U19 Continental Championship last year.
South Korea received its berth with a silver-medal finish at the 2018 Asian Championship. In addition, Russia came in fourth place at the 2018 European Championship to qualify for the World Championship.
USA Volleyball earlier this month unveiled its 24-player training roster for the World Championship. That roster will be reduced to 12 players following the team’s training session in July at the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships.
The World Championship begins Aug. 21 in Tunisia.
The United States is making its seventh consecutive appearance at the event. The nation’s best finish at the World Championship was seventh place in 1995 and 2015.
Pool D
| Team | Ranking | How it qualified |
| United States | 12 | Silver medal at 2018 NORCECA Championships |
| Russia | 3 | Fourth place at 2018 European Championships |
| South Korea | 4 | Silver medal at 2018 Asian Championships |
| Nigeria | 14 | Gold medal at 2018 African Championships |
| Dominican Republic | 72 | Bronze medal at 2019 Pan Am Cup |
Pool A
| Team | Ranking | How it qualified |
| Brazil | No. 8 | Gold medal at 2018 South American Championships |
| Cuba | 11 | Gold medal at 2018 NORCECA Championships |
| Tunisia | 17 | Host nation |
| Chinese Taipei | 21 | Fourth place at 2018 Asian Championships |
| Belarus | 25 | Fifth place at 2018 European Championships |
Pool B
| Team | Ranking | How it qualified |
| Iran | No. 1 | Bronze medal at 2018 Asian Championships |
| Czech Republic | 6 | Silver medal at 2018 European Championships |
| Italy | 9 | Bronze medal at 2018 European Championships |
| Colombia | 18 | Bronze medal at 2018 South American Championships |
| Bulgaria | 30 | Sixth place at 2018 European Championships |
Pool C
| Team | Ranking | How it qualified |
| Japan | No. 2 | Gold medal at 2018 Asian Championships |
| Egypt | 5 | Bronze medal at 2018 African Championships |
| Argentina | 10 | Silver medal at 2018 South American Championships |
| Germany | 14 | Gold medal at 2018 European Championships |
| Mexico | 35 | Silver medal at 2019 Pan Am Cup |