Brazil beats Japan with Ana Cristina’s brilliance and guarantees a place in the VNL semi-final By Carolina Costa
3 min read
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Brazil’s women’s volleyball team secured its position in the Nations League (VNL) semi-finals by overcoming Japan in a thrilling match. The match, held on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Macau, China, ended with a Brazilian victory by 3 sets to 1, after the team started behind on the scoreboard. The team’s highlight was striker Ana Cristina, who shone brightly and commanded the comeback.
Performance of the Brazilian team and the path to the semi-final
Brazil’s trajectory in this edition of the Nations League has been marked by consistency. The team, led by coach José Roberto Guimarães, demonstrated resilience throughout the group stage, achieving nine wins in twelve matches, which placed them in third place overall before the playoffs. The victory against the Japanese in the quarter-finals solidifies the Brazilian campaign and projects it towards one of the biggest challenges of the competition.
The match against Japan: sets played and turnaround
The game against Japan was a real test for the Brazilians. The first set was intensely contested, with the Japanese achieving a small advantage and closing the partial at 26/24, despite Brazil’s efforts to reach the score.
In the second set, the balance persisted. The teams exchanged points, with Japan standing out on serve. However, Brazil managed to impose its pace in the final stretch, taking advantage of mistakes from the opposing team to close at 25/22, tying the match.
The scenario changed drastically in the third set. The Brazilian team entered the court with an aggressive stance, opening up a big lead and dominating the match. Attack points from Rosamaria and precise serves from Bergmann and Luzia contributed to a comfortable 25/16 victory.
With confidence high, Brazil maintained the pressure in the fourth set. Despite a balanced start, where the Japanese still resisted, the Brazilian offensive strength prevailed in the final part, with Ana Cristina and Bergmann leading the decisive points. The team closed the set at 25/20, guaranteeing classification.
Individual highlight: Ana Cristina’s leading role
Without the presence of important players like Gabi and Júlia Kudiess, Ana Cristina assumed the role of the team’s protagonist. The winger had a spectacular performance against Japan, scoring an impressive 30 points throughout the match. His performance was fundamental to the Brazilian comeback and victory, demonstrating his leadership capacity and firepower in crucial moments of the tournament, alongside Júlia Bergmann.
Next challenge: the clash against Italy
With a place in the semi-finals guaranteed, the Brazilian team is now preparing for a big clash. The next opponent will be Italy, the team that currently leads the women’s volleyball world rankings. The match is scheduled for Saturday, July 25, 2026, and promises to be one of the highlights of the competition, testing Brazil’s ability to overcome one of the sport’s global powers. The exact game time will still be announced by the tournament organizers.
Team trajectory in the group stage
The preliminary phase of the Volleyball Nations League served to define the positions and clashes for the quarterfinals, and both Brazil and Japan had solid campaigns:
- Brazil:They concluded the group stage in third place, with a record of nine wins and three defeats in twelve matches played.
- Japan:They also performed well, winning eight of twelve games in the preliminary stage. However, the team finished in sixth place, which took them to the decisive clash against Brazil in the quarter-finals.
