They will face Brazil or Dominican Republic in one of Thursday’s quarterfinals
France produced a stunning eighthfinal victory over mighty China at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship in Thailand and will compete in the quarterfinal stage of the competition for the first time in history. In the first of Sunday’s two games in Bangkok, the European team, ranked 14th in the world, defeated their fifth-ranked Asian rivals and multiple World Championship medalists in four sets. France’s opponent for one of the quarterfinals on Thursday will be known later on Sunday and it will be the winner of the sixth eighthfinal match between Brazil and Dominican Republic, serving off at 20:30 local time (13:30 UTC).
Once again spearheaded by their charismatic captain Helena Cazaute, a spirited France managed to produce a shocking 3-1 (25-20, 27-25, 22-25, 25-20) upset of China, knocked the powerful opponent out of contention and qualified for the quarterfinals. Only once before in history, France has been among the world’s top eight teams of a World Championships and that was back in 1952, when they were one of eight teams actually participating in the inaugural edition in Moscow and finished seventh after the single round-robin format applied.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DOBPAotjCWa/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
France outperformed China mainly in attack, with 63 successful swings against 56 from the opponents. Outside hitter and captain Cazaute led the way with a match-high 22 points, including two aces and a kill block. Opposite Iman Ndiaye added another 20 points, while France’s other outside, Amelie Rotar, registered a 52% success rate in attack and put up two kill blocks to finish with 18 points. The match winner at the end of the fourth set came with a double block from sub-in Lucille Gicquel and middle blocker Amandha Sylves that got the French party started.
“I have no words!” exclaimed Cazaute at the start of her on-court interview with VBTV. “We knew that we could play at a high level. We showed against Brazil that we were able to compete against really good teams. And today was our day! We really believe in our team. We really believe in what we can do. And today we showed that we were able to beat big teams. I am really happy, because last year at the same time, at the Olympics, we lost really badly by 3-0, and today we beat them 3-1, so I am just proud of my team. It was a victory from the heart. We really fought to get there. Our team is working a lot and today it paid off. We enjoy playing volleyball, we are giving everything we have and we can see that it’s working. We already wrote history, but we are still dreaming…”
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOBGK6LjP5w/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
After taking silver in 2014 and bronze in 2018, China will miss out on the World Championship podium for the second time in a row, but unlike 2022, when they reached the quarterfinals and finished in sixth place, this time they were eliminated in the eighthfinal round.
In the game against France, their experienced middle blocker Wang Yuanyuan showed a remarkable 87% success rate in attack and put away two stuffs to lead her team with a total of 15 points. 22-year-old outside Wu Mengjie added another 13 points. Middle Gao Yi and outside Li Yingying also reached the double digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
“We lost this game and the World Championship is over for us, but we made our collective effort,” commented opposite and captain Gong Xiangyu. “Our young team has a bright future. We will continue to work very hard at practice to show good performances and secure a good future.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5UiWw0F4hc&themeRefresh=1
2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship: full schedule and results
QUICK LINKS
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click https://www.facebook.com/avcasianvolleyball
AVC Twitter: click: www.twitter.com/AsianVolleyball
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
Mikasa Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/mikasasports_official
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation