Türkiye face Brazil for VNL title after contrasting semi-finals

Türkiye and Brazil will contest the 2026 Women’s Volleyball Nations League title in Macao on Sunday (July 26) at 6.30pm Thailand time, with Türkiye pursuing their second championship and Brazil seeking their first.

The final at the East Asian Games Dome brings together the world’s second- and third-ranked teams. Türkiye reached the title match by sweeping hosts China, while Brazil survived a five-set semi-final against two-time defending champions Italy.

Vargas powers Türkiye past hosts China

Türkiye defeated China 3-0, winning 25-21, 25-15 and 25-20 in front of the home crowd.

Melissa Vargas led all scorers with 23 points, while İlkin Aydın added 15. Türkiye recorded 54 successful attacks to China’s 36 and also held advantages of 7-6 in blocks and 5-2 in aces.

Türkiye finished fourth in the preliminary phase with nine wins from 12 matches and 25 points. They then recovered from losing the opening set to defeat Canada 3-1 in the quarter-finals before producing their straight-sets victory over China.

Sunday’s match will be Türkiye’s third VNL final. They finished runners-up in the inaugural 2018 tournament before winning their first title in 2023, when they beat China in the final. They also collected bronze in 2021.

Brazil end Italy’s title defence in five sets

Brazil advanced with a 3-2 victory over Italy, taking the semi-final 21-25, 25-21, 26-24, 21-25 and 15-12.

The deciding set was level at 11-11 before Brazil scored three consecutive points to create match point. Ana Cristina then completed the victory on Brazil’s second opportunity to close the contest.

Ana Cristina scored a match-high 23 points, with Julia Bergmann and Rosamaria Montibeller contributing 15 apiece. Brazil narrowly led Italy 64-63 in successful attacks and 4-3 in aces.

Brazil entered the Finals after finishing third in the preliminary standings with a 9-3 record and 26 points. They came from one set down to defeat Japan 3-1 in the quarter-finals before ending Italy’s attempt to win a third successive VNL crown.

The South Americans are appearing in their fifth VNL final but have yet to win the tournament. Their previous four title matches ended in silver medals in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2025.

Brazil carry stronger recent head-to-head record

The final is a rematch of the bronze-medal contest at the Paris 2024 Olympics, which Brazil won in four sets.

Brazil also won the teams’ most recent meeting during the 2025 VNL, extending their winning sequence against Türkiye to three matches. Türkiye’s last victory in the series was a straight-sets win during Olympic qualification in 2023.

The teams have met 19 times in major world-level competitions, with Brazil winning 14 and Türkiye five. A Brazilian victory on Sunday would deliver the country’s first VNL championship, while Türkiye would join the tournament’s multiple-title winners.

China and Italy meet for bronze

Hosts China will face Italy in the third-place match at 2.30pm Thailand time.

China qualified automatically for the Finals as hosts after placing ninth in the preliminary phase. They then defeated preliminary-round winners the United States in five sets in the quarter-finals before losing to Türkiye.

Italy arrived in Macao with a 10-2 preliminary-phase record and beat the Netherlands in straight sets in the quarter-finals. Their defeat by Brazil ended their pursuit of a fourth VNL title and sent them into the bronze-medal match for the first time.

Italy lead China 27-26 across 53 meetings at major world-level competitions and have won the last seven encounters. Their latest match, during the 2026 preliminary phase, ended in a five-set Italian victory.

Final-day schedule and broadcast

Sunday, July 26, 2026

2.30pm: China v Italy — third-place match
6.30pm: Türkiye v Brazil — final

The matches will be shown in Thailand on Monomax and Monomax Sports, or Mono 29. The original programme also lists AIS Play as a viewing option.