This is the toughest path, as we have to overcome one of the three "big sisters": China, Japan, or Thailand. Facing China or Japan, Vietnam definitely has no chance of winning.

Facing Thailand is the easiest scenario, but beating Thailand is still a huge challenge for us. Although the skill gap between the two volleyball nations has narrowed significantly, we are clearly still behind them in many technical aspects at present.

They are still better than Vietnam in serve reception and defense. Their attacking lineup is also more balanced despite Pimpichaya recently emerging as their top attacker. Their setter is better than ours. Their attack speed is faster. Their competitive mindset is stronger. Overall, when facing Thailand, Vietnam has a chance to win but it is not very large.

*Hope that one of China, Japan, or Thailand becomes the host of the tournament

If one of China, Thailand, or Japan hosts the 2027 Women's Volleyball World Championship, Asia will have 4 spots in the tournament. In that case, Vietnam only needs to finish in the top 4 at the 2026 Asian Championship to qualify for the 2027 World Championship.

However, this possibility is uncertain. China and Japan rarely host major world tournaments. Thailand hosts more often but since they hosted the 2025 Women's Volleyball World Championship, the chance that they will apply and be approved by FIVB to host the 2027 event is low.

*Achieve a high position on the FIVB ranking list

Starting from the 2025 Women's Volleyball World Championship, 32 teams will compete. Among these, 15 teams qualify by ranking highest in their continental championships (5 continents, 3 teams each), plus the defending champion and the host nation who automatically qualify. The remaining 15 spots go to teams outside these categories with the highest FIVB rankings.

Therefore, to qualify for the 2027 Women's Volleyball World Championship, Vietnam needs to be in the top 30 on the FIVB ranking. We once reached as high as 22nd in the world but have since dropped to 28th. This is still within the qualifying range for the 2027 World Championship.

However, to maintain a top 30 position before the 2027 World Championship, Vietnam must participate fully in all FIVB point-earning tournaments and achieve good results. These tournaments include the 2026 Asian Championship, 2026 AVC Challenge Cup, and the 2026 SEA V.League.

The chance for the Vietnam women's volleyball team to stay in the top 30 worldwide is not easy, as it depends not only on our performance and results but also on the performances of our competitors.