Italy retained their global crown thanks to a 3-1 (25-21, 25-17, 17-25, 25-10) victory over Bulgaria at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship in Manila, the Philippines, on Sunday, according to the official website of the Olympics.

In doing so, the Azzurri claimed back-to-back title victories for the first time since 1998 to capture their fifth global crown.

The pulsating final was on a knife-edge throughout all three sets, with the Italians denying the Bulgarians their first-ever gold medal at the global showpiece.

The lead seesawed between the sides throughout the first three set before Italy got in front with a one-point advantage on 15-14.

Bulgaria remained within striking distance, but the Italians managed to hold off the challenge to wrap up the first set.

The defending champions again delivered a slow burn in the second set before streaking away in the latter stages, winning the second by eight points.

Momentum swung back in Bulgaria’s favour as they opened a two-point gap after a tit-for-tat resulted in a 9-9 stalemate.

Bulgaria scored five consecutive points for a sizeable lead at 15-10, which proved enough of a buffer to hold off an Italian fightback.

The Azzurri bounced back with vengeance in the fourth set.

They took an early lead, opened up a six-point gap over the Bulgarians, and completely dominated the rest of the final.

Italy finished in emphatic style as they scored eight points on the trot to secure the global crown.

Yuri Romanò turned in a stunning display for the Italians, contributing 22 points to his side’s victory while Bulgarian star Aleksandar Nikolov was the top-scorer with 23 points.

Earlier, Poland captured the bronze medal with a 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21) victory over Czechia.

The world number two now has the full set of medals, adding to their three world titles and two silver medals from previous editions.