France rally past Greece to reach round of last 16

France rallied past Greece 3-1 here on Tuesday to make the top 16 as the second finisher from Group C at the end of the preliminaries at the women's volleyball World Championship.

Helena Cazaute notched 25 points, while Iman Ndiaye and Amelie Rotar added 19 and 13 respectively as the French women recorded the 17-25, 25-21, 28-26 and 25-17 win for seven points from two victories and a 3-2 loss against Brazil.

Jennifer Nogueras (R) of Puerto Rico passes the ball during the Preliminary Phase Pool C match between Brazil and Puerto Rico at the Volleyball Women's World Championship in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Aug. 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Hou Zhaokang)

"This match was really stressful. I think we had trouble entering the game in the first set. In the second one, we played better. The third, we had some trouble again, but we fought a lot to come back, and we won this set," said Cazaute. "I am really happy to go to Bangkok and I can't wait to see what's next."

Entering the knockout stage, France will play China or the Dominican Republic in the round of 16, while Cazaute had no preference between those two teams.

"I have no preference. I just know that we want to win," she said.

Having lost to China 3-0 in the group stage of the Paris Olympic Games last year, Cazaute vowed to do better in the potential rematch against the Asian powerhouse.

"It's a team that physically is really tall, they're really good at blocking and attacking, so we will have to find solutions," Cazaute added.

"I'm super happy for the result to enter the final 16," said France head coach Hernandez Gonzalez. "It was our target at the beginning of the summer, and we did a good preparation. Today's match was not a great match about volleyball because of many emotions."

Having secured a place in the knockout stage, France will just try to do their best, according to Gonzalez.

"Now entering the final 16, all the teams will be strong. Both of them (China and the Dominican Republic) are very big and strong teams, and they are pretty similar. I care more about us. We need to be better ourselves, be ready," he added.

Later on Tuesday, Brazil swept Puerto Rico 3-0 to secure the top finish in Group C with eight points from three wins.

In Group D, debutant Slovenia swept Argentina 25-20, 25-22 and 25-21 for its first win at the World Championship and the last ticket on offer to the top 16 round. Thanks to the United States' 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic, Slovenia finished second in Group D with four points from one victory and two losses (including a 3-2 loss) ahead of Argentina and the Czech Republic.