NANJING, June 28 (Xinhua) -- With the preliminary rounds completed, the finals of the 2019 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) are set to take place in Nanjing, China next week from July 3-7.
After five weeks of play, six top teams, namely China, the United States, Italy, Brazil, Turkey and Poland, will compete for the crown in two round-robin groups.
China is one of the favorites as they will play on the home court and have shown great teamwork, placing first after the preliminary rounds.
The Americans demonstrated the great depth of their roster, with coach Karch Kiraly varying his squad from match to match. They finished runners-up, falling second only to China on set ratio.
For the finals, Italy has lined up its strongest squad. They certainly have the talent to go all the way to the top, but the youthfulness of the team may hinder them from achieving that feat.
Turkey has a line-up headed by coach Giovanni Guidetti. Week after week, Turkey has shown that a well-balanced combination of players and great intensity lead to victory.
Brazil is equally up to the task, but has been experimenting quite a bit and showcasing some fresh talent along the way.
Poland has been the surprise of the tournament so far - especially ahead of co-hosting (alongside the Netherlands) the next World Championship in 2022 - but perhaps they rely too much on one player to get things done against the top opposition they'll be facing in Nanjing.
Group A includes China, Turkey and Italy, and Group B has Brazil, Poland and the United States. After a round-robin format, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, with the final slated on next Sunday.
The finals will kick off with a match between reigning champions the United States and Poland in the afternoon, and another one between hosts China and last year's runners-up Turkey in the evening on July 3rd.
