# 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship Pool B

Pool B is one of eight pools of the preliminary round of the 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship. The pool consists of the current Olympic champion Italy as well as Belgium, Cuba, and Slovakia. Teams will play one another in a round-robin, where the top two teams advancing to the final round.
It is scheduled to take place from 22 to 26 August 2025, with rest days on 23 and 25 August. Each matchday will feature two games, held at 17:00 and 20:30. As the seeded team, Italy will play at 20:30 in the first two matches, except for the final match against Belgium, which will be played at 17:00 due to a broadcast time conflict with the Thailand vs. Netherlands match in Pool A.

## Teams

The following four teams will compete in Pool B for the tournament, listed by their position in the pool.
| Position | Country | Confederation | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances | Previous appearances | Previous appearances | Previous best performance |
| Position | Country | Confederation | Qualified as | Qualified on | Total | First | Last | Previous best performance |
| B1 | Italy | CEV | 2023 European 4th placers | 30 August 2023 | 12 | 1978 | 2022 | Champions (2002) |
| B2 | Belgium | CEV | 3rd World ranked non-qualified team | 30 August 2024 | 4 | 1956 | 2022 | 9th place (2022) |
| B3 | Cuba | NORCECA | 9th World ranked non-qualified team | 30 August 2024 | 13 | 1970 | 2018 | Champions (1978, 1994, 1998) |
| B4 | Slovakia | CEV | 13th World ranked non-qualified team | 30 August 2024 | 0 | None | None | None |

### Notes

    $^a$ Finished at the European Championship as the 4th placers. Its spot was reallocated from Serbia, after qualifying as the defending champion.

## World Rankings

The following four teams are ranked in the FIVB World Rankings at the draw, the beginning and the final day of the tournament.
| Position | Country | FIVB World Rankings | FIVB World Rankings | FIVB World Rankings |
| Position | Country | Draw | Before | After |
| B1 | Italy | 1 (437.03) | | |
| B2 | Belgium | 14 (190.98) | | |
| B3 | Cuba | 23 (145.17) | | |
| B4 | Slovakia | 26 (137.47) | | |

### Notes

    $^α$ The FIVB World Ranking at the end of August 2024.
    $^β$ The FIVB World Ranking before the first game on 22 August 2025.
    $^γ$ The FIVB World Ranking after the final game on 7 September 2025.

## Standings

The following four teams are ranked based on the pool standing procedure.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | Pts | SW | SL | SR | SPW | SPL | SPR | Qualification |
| 1 | Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | Advanced to final round |
| 2 | Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | Advanced to final round |
| 3 | Cuba | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | |
* The winners of Pool B will advance to play the runners-up of Pool G.
* The runners-up of Pool B will advance to play the winners of Pool G.

## Matches

The following six matches of Pool B will play at the Phuket Municipal Stadium, Phuket.

### Belgium vs Cuba

The teams recently faced each other in the 2014 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship, where Belgium won 3–0. This is the second game between Belgium and Cuba in the World Championship.

### Italy vs Slovakia

The teams recently faced each other in the 2021 Women's European Volleyball Championship, where Italy won 3–1. This is the first game between Italy and Slovakia in the World Championship, marking Slovakia's debut in the tournament.

### Italy vs Cuba

The teams recently faced each other in the 2018 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship, where Italy won 3–0. This is the sixth game between Italy and Cuba in the World Championship. Cuba has won three of the previous meetings in 1998, 2002, and 2010, while Italy has won two in 2006 and 2018.

### Belgium vs Slovakia

The teams recently faced each other in an official match during the European qualification of the 2012 Summer Olympics, where Belgium won 3–0. They also played a friendly match in 2023, with Belgium winning 3–1. This is the first game between Belgium and Slovakia in the World Championship.

### Italy vs Belgium

The teams will face each other in the 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League ahead of the tournament. This is the fourth game between Italy and Belgium in the World Championship. Italy has won all three of the previous meeting in 1978, 2014, and 2022.

### Cuba vs Slovakia

The teams have never met before. This is the first game between Cuba and Slovakia in any tournament, including the World Championship.