DOHA – The semifinal line-up for the FIVB Volleyball Boys' U17 World Championship Qatar 2026 was completed on Thursday evening, with France, Brazil, Iran and Argentina advancing to the last four following a thrilling day of high-quality quarterfinal action at the Women's Sports Arena, Aspire Zone.
France continued their impressive run towards the title with a commanding 3-0 victory over Romania in the opening quarterfinal, winning 25-17, 25-19 and 25-21 to book their place in the last four.
In an all-South American quarterfinal, Brazil secured their semifinal berth with a convincing 3-0 victory over Venezuela, prevailing 25-19, 25-13 and 25-14 to strengthen their title ambitions and keep their hopes of reaching the podium firmly alive.
Following Brazil's qualification, head coach Marcelo Zeni Klein expressed his delight at the victory and progression to the semifinals, saying: "We played a difficult game today, and we are very happy with the victory and qualification. We will return to the hotel to celebrate first, and then we will begin working on our tactical plan for the semifinal. We are fully aware of the strength of our next opponent, France, and we are looking forward to giving Brazil the chance to finish first in this championship."
Klein added: "All the elements of our team performed extremely well in the quarterfinal. In my view, Pedro Berlitz de Almeida was the standout player, thanks to his excellent contribution, which helped provide balance within the team."
Brazilian player Lucas Pereira de Abreu said: "The game against Venezuela was not easy at all. We came here determined to produce our best technical and skillful performance. Despite the wide margin in the score, Venezuela are a good team and deserve respect, and every player on our team delivered an excellent performance. We will face France in the semifinal. They are a very strong team, and we will give everything we have to beat them."
In an all-Asian quarterfinal clash, Iran overcame Pakistan 3-2 in a thrilling five-set encounter, winning 25-23, 20-25, 17-25, 25-11 and 16-14 to book their place in the semifinals and continue their confident pursuit of a place on the podium.
In the fourth and final quarterfinal, Argentina produced a commanding performance to defeat Poland 3-0, winning 25-18, 25-22 and 25-20 to complete the semifinal line-up and continue their ambitious campaign in the championship.
With France, Brazil, Iran and Argentina completing the semifinal line-up, attention now turns once again to the Women's Sports Arena, Aspire Zone on Friday. The first semifinal will get underway at 2pm, featuring a highly anticipated European-South American clash between France, the European runners-up, and Brazil, the South American champions.
The second semifinal will follow at 5pm at the Women's Sports Arena, Aspire Zone, with Iran facing Argentina in another eagerly anticipated battle for a place in the championship final.