Brazil found itself without a spot on the podium at last year’s FIVB VNL and that became somewhat emblematic of the team’s separation from the glory days of consistent gold medals over a decade ago. 

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But the Brazilian men’s national team, the world’s top-ranked team, is a proud group with an established winning tradition on the international stage. So whilst others may have written them off, they didn’t. And it resulted in a deserved silver medal at the 2018 World Championship.

Will Brazil shock us all again at FIVB VNL 2019?

Win/loss: 10 / 5 

Points: 30 

Sets win/loss/ratio: 34 / 21 / 1.619 

Points win/loss/ratio: 1280 / 1213 / 1.055 

Final position: 4th

What’s new for Brazil in FIVB VNL 2019?

It feels like the world is still adjusting to this Brazilian men’s team that no longer includes the likes of legendary stars Dante or Giba. But generally, Brazil has done fairly well for itself in terms of passing the baton to new stars. Expect to see Brazil’s current crop of talent in action again after a successful, confidence-boosting run at the 2018 World Championship. 

Brazil world ranking: 1 (October 2018)

Brazil FIVB VNL 2019 match schedule

Week 1

May 31 at 10:30 PM CT – USA v Brazil 

June 1 at 7 AM CT – Brazil v Australia 

June 2 at 10 AM CT – Brazil v Poland

Week 2

June 7 at 1:40 AM CT – Brazil v Iran 

June 8 at 4:40 AM CT – Japan v Brazil 

June 9 at 1:10 AM CT – Argentina v Brazil

Week 3

June 14 at 12 PM CT – Brazil v Serbia 

June 15 at 10 AM CT – Brazil v China 

June 16 at 12 PM CT – Portugal v Brazil

Week 4

June 21 at 7 PM CT – Brazil v Bulgaria 

June 22 at 7 PM CT – Brazil v Germany 

June 23 at 7 PM CT – Brazil v Russia

Week 5

June 28 at 6 PM CT – Brazil v France 

June 29 at 6 PM CT – Brazil v Canada 

June 30 at 5 PM CT – Brazil v Italy

Brazil games to watch out for in FIVB VNL 2019

Brazil’s matches against FIVB VNL host USA and defending champion Russia should be exciting to watch. But there’s much anticipation around the Brazilians taking on Poland early in the tournament schedule as well. The two teams squared off in the 2018 World Championship final, where Brazil fell in straight sets but still put up a gallant stand. So that should be a good one to tune into.

Brazil provisional roster

Head coach: Renan Dal Zotto 

Liberos: Maique Reis Nascimento, Thales Hoss, Douglas Pureza 

Setters: Fernando Kreling, Bruno Rezende, William Arjona, Raphael Vieira de Oliveira, Thiago Pontes Veloso, Eduardo Sobrinho 

Middle Blockers: Flavio Gualberto, Matheus Bispo Dos Santos, Isac Santos, Eder Carbonera, Otavio Pinto, Mauricio Souza, Lucas Saatcamp 

Wing Spikers (Outside & Opposite Hitters): Rafael Araujo, Felipe Roque, Carlos Eduardo Barreto Silva, Henrique Honorato, Rodrigo Leao, Lucas Loh, Wallace de Souza, Yoandy Leal Hidalgo, Douglas Souza, Evandro Guerra, Ricardo Lucarelli, Mauricio Borges Silva, Alan Souza, Renan Buiatti 

Average age: 28.3 (1st oldest)

Average height: 197.4cm (10th tallest)

Brazil players to watch in FIVB VNL 2019: Wallace de Souza, Bruno Rezende

Wallace de Souza, who plays opposite, is easily the best player on this Brazilian team. He scored 157 points in the 2018 World Championship and was also the second-best scorer during the preliminary round of last year’s FIVB VNL. The 31-year-old, who has been with the Brazilian national team since 2009, is incredible to watch and is one of the best in the world at his position. He has the ability to hit at certain angles and is a reliable scorer. Expect him to lead Brazil at FIVB VNL 2019. 

Alongside Wallace would be team captain Bruno Rezende. The 32-year-old veteran is renowned as one of the best setters in the world. He’s a true leader and is capable of running the game really well. He was named Best Setter during the 2016 Rio Olympics. Up and coming star Douglas Souza, 23, is also one to keep tabs on after he was named Best Outside Spiker during the 2018 World Championship. Meanwhile, Lucas Saatkamp, 33, was named Best Middle Blocker in that same tournament and shores up Brazil’s imposing middle.

The bottom line: Never count out Brazil

Despite being ranked first in the world, Brazil’s glory days feel too long ago. Brazil was once on top of the world with three consecutive World Championship golds from 2002 to 2010. It also copped two silver medals and two golds at the Olympics from 2004 to 2016. But Brazil looks like a different team now without the legendary names that dominated men’s volleyball all those years ago. Retirements were inevitable, as were injuries, and so the team feels like it’s in a period of rebuilding and forming a new identity with a fresh crop of talent. 

The squad’s poor performance at the FIVB VNL last year may have led people to believe it couldn’t do well at the World Championship. True enough, the Brazilians had a shaky start but the players somehow found their footing and got better as the tournament wore on. By the end of it Brazil had a real shot at winning gold and had completed an unexpected run to the final. 

It may have fallen just short but proved without a doubt that Brazil can again run with the best of the best. There is more room for improvement with Wallace and Bruno teaming up with the young stars, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all this time if it showed up big at FIVB VNL 2019.

What is a realistic FIVB VNL projection for the Brazil men’s team?

After a good showing at the World Championship, everyone will see Brazil coming at FIVB VNL 2019. In fact, the expectations are a lot higher this time compared to last year. That may test the mental resolve of this team and it would be interesting to see how they respond to a bit more pressure. 

They’re still the world’s number one, after all. But they will have major challengers to get through before they can snatch the gold. USA, Poland, Serbia and Russia are all very tough competitors and Brazil would have to dig deep to overcome them all. In the wake of the team’s World Championship run, however, it’s at least quite clear that the rest of the world would do well not to count out Brazil.

How to watch Brazil in FIVB VNL 2019

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