We only get the Summer Olympics every four years, and for many sports that participate in the Games, it’s the largest event that means so much to win.

Men’s volleyball on the international stage is no different.

Though international men’s volleyball has plenty of regional and worldwide competitions throughout its calendar, all of them pale in comparison to the Olympics, which is by far the most prestigious event to compete in (and win) in the sport. 

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Some of the sport’s greatest-ever players have been training all of their lives to earn an Olympic gold medal, and when the Paris Olympics kicks off later this month, they’ll finally get a chance to achieve their dream.

Here’s a look at all you need to know ahead of the men’s volleyball tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics: 

What Teams Will Play in the Olympic Men’s Volleyball Tournament?

The men’s volleyball tournament of the 2024 Paris Olympics will feature a 12-team field with five continents represented. 

France qualified automatically as the host, while six teams (Germany, Brazil, the United States, Japan, Poland, and Canada) made the Olympics through the Federation Internationale de Volleyball’s (FIVB) Olympic Qualification Tournaments held through September and October of last year in Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Xi’an, China. 

The five other teams going to the Games (Slovenia, Italy, Argentina, Serbia, and Egypt) sealed their spots by way of being the highest-ranked nations not already qualified for Paris in last month’s FIVB World Rankings, with priority going to countries from a continent that hadn’t yet had a team in the tournament. 

That reason is why Egypt, which is ranked 19th in the world entering the Olympics but is the highest-ranked African team in the World Rankings, got in over 12th-ranked Cuba, which was the highest-ranked country in the world to not make it to Paris as it missed out due to two North American teams already being in the field. Countries from Oceania (such as Australia and New Zealand) are members of the Asian Volleyball Confederation, therefore not making them eligible for priority selection into the Olympic field.

When Will the Olympic Men’s Volleyball Tournament Be Played?

The men’s volleyball tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics will take place from July 27, when preliminary rounds begin, to August 10, when the gold medal match is scheduled to take place. Knockout rounds are slated to begin with the quarterfinals on August 5, and off days in the tournament will be on July 29, August 1, 4, 6, and 8.

What is the Format of the Olympic Men’s Volleyball Tournament?

The men’s volleyball tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics will have a format other than a two-pool setup for the first time since 1968 as there will be three pools of four teams in the preliminary round this year. 

All teams will play every other nation in their pool once in a round-robin format, with the top two teams from each pool plus the two top-ranked third-placed teams (based on a variety of criteria, but most importantly matches won) qualifying for the quarterfinal stage. Pool A features France, Slovenia, Canada and Serbia, Pool B has Poland, Italy, Brazil and Egypt and Pool C contains Japan, the U.S., Argentina and Germany.

After the preliminary round, the tournament will then turn into an eight-team single-elimination bracket from there until the gold medal is awarded, with the exception of the semifinal losers being put into the bronze medal match to take place the day before the gold medal match.

Where Will the Olympic Men’s Volleyball Tournament Be Played?

All matches in the men’s volleyball tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be held in the South Paris Arena 1 at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.

Who Is The Defending Olympic Men’s Volleyball Champion?

France won the first gold medal in its history at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in a bit of a stunner, being ranked ninth in the world going into the Games and being the fourth and final team to advance out of Pool B before defeating Poland, Argentina and the Russian Olympic Committee in the knockout rounds to storm to the gold. 

The Soviet Union/Russia is the most successful nation in Olympic men’s volleyball history with four gold medals, but it will not have the opportunity to add to its medal tally in Paris as the FIVB suspended it from competition in 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Brazil and the U.S. are the next most successful men’s volleyball squads at the Olympics with three gold medals apiece. 

Who Are The Gold Medal Favorites in Olympic Men’s Volleyball?

As the defending Olympic champion, France (ranked fourth in the world entering the Games) will be a strong contender to be men’s volleyball’s first repeat gold medalist since the U.S. in 1984 and 1988 as it will play every match in front of a home crowd. 

But the favorite to win it all on paper is undoubtedly Poland, the world’s No. 1-ranked team and 1976 gold medalist who has won an incredible 36 of its past 39 matches dating back to June of last year and has had a decorated stretch including wins in both the Nations League and European Championship in 2023. The Poles have a massive lead in the world rankings over the current No. 2 team, Japan, while Italy lurks behind them both at No. 3. 

The United States is ranked sixth in the world going into the Olympics, slipping down the pecking order after losing four matches across a seven-game stretch in June — one of which was an upset defeat to 15th-ranked Iran.

Who Are Some of the Top Players to Watch in Olympic Men’s Volleyball?

The man who’s considered by many to be the cream of the crop among current superstars in men’s volleyball is Wilfredo Leon, a 30-year-old outside hitter who has spent over half his life playing high-level international volleyball. 

Born in Cuba and debuting for the senior national team at just 14 years old, he captained the team by 17 as he (along with most notably Yoandy Leal and Robertlandy Simon) was part of the Cuban national team’s “Generation of Miracles” who made an epic run to the final of the 2010 FIVB World Championship before losing to a powerful Brazil squad. 

He played his final match for Cuba in 2012, gaining Polish citizenship and becoming fully eligible for the Polish national team in 2019 instead; he’s since been vital to Poland’s surge to the top of the world rankings, being named the Most Valuable Player of the European Championships last year as one of the best players of his generation. 

Other big names include French outside hitter Earvin N’Gapeth, who like his namesake Earvin Johnson is often magic on the court as he and setter Antoine Brizard (the MVP of this year’s Nations League) make up one of the best attacking tandems in the world. They’re both likely to get a boost in motivation being defending champions playing on home soil and should be a problem for other nations to handle all tournament long. 

And speaking of setters, there’s the Hawaii-born Micah Christenson for the U.S., too, who is a three-time Nations League best setter winner and was the MVP of the 2023 NORCECA Championship (a biannual tournament for North American, Central American and Caribbean teams), which the Americans won for the 10th time overall and the first time since 2017. He’ll be important to the setup if the U.S. (which failed to make it out of its pool in Tokyo) wants to get back into medal contention in Paris. 

2024 Paris Olympics United States Men’s Volleyball National Team Roster 

• No. 1: Matt Anderson, 6-10, opposite
• No. 2: Aaron Russell, 6-9, outside hitter
• No. 4: Jeff Jendryk, 6-10, middle blocker
• No. 8: T.J. DeFalco, 6-5, outside hitter
• No. 11: Micah Christenson, 6-5, setter
• No. 12: Max Holt, 6-10, middle blocker
• No. 14: Micah Ma’a, 6-3, setter
• No. 17: Thomas Jaeschke, 6-6, outside hitter
• No. 18: Garrett Muagututia, 6-5, outside hitter
• No. 19: Taylor Averill, 6-7, middle blocker
• No. 20: David Smith, 6-7, middle blocker
• No. 22: Erik Shoji, 6-0, libero
• Alternate: Kyle Ensing, 6-7, opposite

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