Japan vs Slovenia Prediction & Betting Tips - Nations League

Prediction published on 01/08/2026, 12:19  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 01/08/2026 at 12:20 in Nations League Predictions

Japan and Slovenia will contest the 3rd place Playoff at the 2026 Volleyball Nations League on Sunday afternoon. Ryujin Nippon beat this opponent earlier in the competition, and our prediction is that they will come out on top in this one as well. 

Japan’s hopes of winning their first-ever Nations League title were brought to an abrupt halt on Saturday when they suffered their first loss of the competition to the USA 3-2 in the semi-finals. 

Yuji Nishida top-scored for Ryujin Nippon in their loss to the Americans with 19 points. Ran Takahashi is the team’s highest scorer in the competition with 242 points, including 17 blocks. 

Japan have now won 15 of their last 20 matches in all competitions as well as their last seven against this opponent. 

Meanwhile, Slovenia’s hopes of reaching their first-ever VNL final were ended by Poland on Saturday when they were completely outclassed in a straight-sets defeat to the world leaders. 

Nik Mujanović has been excellent in this competition and is the third-highest scorer overall with 253 points. Rok Možič is sixth in the leading scorer standings with 198 points in 14 games. 

Slovenia have also won 15 of their last 20 matches in all competitions but have not beaten this opponent since the 2021 edition of this tournament.