Paris 2024 volleyball: Men's final preview, schedule and how to watch live
In what is shaping up to be an epic fight for Olympic gold at Paris 2024, world number one-ranked Poland will face reigning Olympic champions and host nation France in the men’s volleyball gold medal final on Saturday, 10 August at the South Paris Arena.
France, who was close to falling out of medal contention in the quarter-final after they were down 2-0 to Germany, pulled off a reverse sweep to defeat the Germans 3-2, then danced past Italy 3-0 in the semi-finals to secure their spot in the gold-medal matchup.
Poland, who were defeated by the Italians in prelims, will step onto the court as the top-ranked team in the world, but will see a major disadvantage as France’s home crowd has been bringing the heat.
It is the first time the Poles will play in an Olympic final in 48 years (when they won gold at Montreal 1976), so the volleyball world will be on the edge of their seats to see if France will defend their title or if Poland can retain their status as world leaders.
The day before the men's final, the USA and Italy will vie for bronze at South Paris Arena on Friday, 9 August.
A fan of Team France reacts during a Men's Quarterfinal match at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris Arena on August 05, 2024.
Stars to follow in the men’s volleyball final
Poland’s star player is Wilfredo Leon Venero, who posted a whopping 26 points against the USA in the semi-finals. His hunger for the gold has been brewing since his win at the Youth Olympic Games in 2010, when he played for the Cuban national team.
France’s Earvin Ngapeth and Trevor Clevenot have come close to Venero’s point totals in Paris, posting a combined 41 points in their match against Germany and being largely responsible for a major comeback from a 2-0 deficit.
Both Frenchmen contributed to their country’s Olympic title in Tokyo, so with an appreciation of how it feels to land on top of the Olympic podium, they will stop at nothing to repeat the feat. Ngapeth is regarded as France's greatest volleyball player ever.
As for the bronze-medal match, USA’s Matt Anderson is a veteran leader looking to land back on the podium in Paris, as he went from a bronze at Rio 2016 to a 10th- place finish in Tokyo.
His impressive resume includes being the USA men’s leading point scorer for every season since 2011 (NCAA), as well as being named USA Volleyball’s Male Indoor Player of the Year six times.
But Italy’s top point scorers of the Games — Alessandro Michieletto, Daniele Lavia and Yuri Romano — won't make it an easy feat for the Americans if they want to fly home with Olympic hardware.
Men’s volleyball final schedule
All times local to Paris, France (CET)
9 August
16:00 Men’s bronze medal match: Italy vs. United States
10 August
13:00 Men’s gold medal match: France vs. Poland
Full Olympic volleyball schedule here.
How to watch men’s volleyball finals at Paris 2024 live
All the action from Paris 2024, including volleyball, can be watched via media rights holders (MRHs).
MRHs include Nine in Australia, Globo in Brazil, CBC in Canada, CCTV in People's Republic of China, Fuji TV/NHK/Nippon TV/TBS/TV Asahi/TV Tokyo in Japan, SKY NZ in New Zealand, SuperSport in South Africa, NBC in the United States and Discovery Eurosport across Europe, alongside France Télévisions in France, ARD/ZDF in Germany and BBC Sport in the United Kingdom, among others.
Check listings in other regions for your local broadcaster.