Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Women's Volleyball Nations League match.
Turkey remain one of the favourites to lift the Nations League trophy. They opened the competition with a strong performance and are now focused on improving their seeding ahead of the play-offs. For Thailand, this tournament represents an opportunity to gain valuable experience competing against top-tier opposition. Despite being clear underdogs, they will look to show resilience, although the gap in quality suggests that overcoming Turkey at this stage is highly unlikely.
Turkey (women)
Currently ranked among the top five teams in the world, Turkey consistently demonstrate their status at the elite level. They have reached the play-offs in every edition of the Nations League, and in 2023, they went on to secure the title. In their opening match of the current campaign, the Turkish team delivered a commanding performance against France, dropping just a single set. Even in recent friendly defeats to high-calibre squads such as Brazil (1:3) and Italy (2:3), they maintained a high level of play, notably covering a –7.5 point handicap against Italy. In their last two official meetings with Thailand, Turkey earned comprehensive 3:0 wins, including a recent fixture where they took all three sets by the identical score of 25:17.
Thailand (women)
Ranked 14th in the world, Thailand are facing long odds in their efforts to reach the play-offs. They are currently on a five-match losing streak, with four of those defeats coming in straight sets. In the current Nations League campaign, they have lost to both Poland and Belgium. Against Belgium, Thailand showed some tenacity, with each set decided by a margin of no more than three points. However, replicating that level of competitiveness against Turkey appears improbable: in their last two encounters, Thailand failed to score more than 20 points in any set, with an overall margin of defeat of at least 24 points.
Turkey (women) vs Thailand (women) Prediction
Turkey are displaying impressive volleyball and will likely avoid dropping any unnecessary points, particularly against an underdog. Thailand, on the other hand, are set to continue their losing streak with a clean sheet and are unlikely to trouble one of the world’s volleyball giants.
