2024 Paris Olympics Men’s Volleyball Odds and Predictions

One of the best parts of betting on the Olympics is targeting markets where there is not a clear frontrunner.

One such betting market is Olympic volleyball. You can look at the women’s Olympic volleyball odds as well, but the men’s side offers slightly more value.

Both sides seem to be pretty wide open, however. For the men’s Olympic volleyball competition, though, Poland is a very tentative +350 favorite, followed by six other countries with odds of +900 or better.

Put simply, nobody really knows how things are going to go down in Paris. That said, we can certainly figure out the best options by dissecting these teams. I’ll do just that, but first let’s look at the latest men’s volleyball odds for the 2024 Summer Games.

2024 Men’s Olympic Volleyball Odds

Poland comes in with the best Paris Olympics men’s volleyball odds. They haven’t claimed gold in this event since 1976 and haven’t even placed since 1980, so it might make sense to look past them for viable alternatives.

Italy is in second with +550 odds, while the French team will play in front of their home crowd and own the third best men’s volleyball betting odds.

See how the other countries grade out in a field that includes 12 teams in all.

France immediately stands out as a strong value, as they own the third best odds despite winning gold in this event four years ago in Tokyo. 

They also have home court advantage, so to speak, so no matter how you look at it, they’re going to be tough to ignore.

Team USA seems to be in contention for everything this year. Per usual, the US is favored to win the most gold medals, so why shouldn’t we consider them to win in men’s volleyball?

The Americans have the fourth best men’s volleyball odds at +750, and actually claimed gold in 2008. There are several countries that have specific narratives or compelling history, but which ones should you actually bet on?

It should start with Poland since they’re the favorite, but let’s break down the top options en route to an ultimate winner prediction.

Why is Poland Favored to Win Gold in Paris?

Poland doesn’t have any recent Olympics success as far as medals go. As mentioned, they last placed in 1980, and their last gold medal win came four years before that.

They did excel in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Olympics Qualification Tournament, though. They went an impressive 7-0 with 18 points in Pool C. 

That point total was second only to Germany and the United States. Nobody had more set points won (682) during that period, either, while they were one of three teams to qualify without a single loss.

New coach Nikola Grbic has been a significant reason for this team’s turnaround. Brought on in 2022, Grbic has led Poland to three major tournament wins, scoring titles in the 2023 Nations League, the aforementioned Olympic bid, and the 2023 European Championship.

Poland was especially impressive at the European Championship. They went 5-0 in Group Play, racking up 15 points and a 1.463 set point ratio – the latter of which led all teams.

Once in the knockout rounds, Poland claimed victories over Belgium, Serbia, and Slovenia (all 3-1 wins) and coasted to a 3-0 sweep over Italy in the final.

None of this guarantees Polan will win gold in men’s volleyball, but their rise and recent accomplishments are tough to ignore.

Top 2024 Men’s Olympic Volleyball Contenders

Poland’s recent form seems formidable, but this is still a pretty difficult field to decipher. That leads me to more than a couple potential gold medal contenders.

I could make a case for several, but here are the men’s volleyball threats I like the most going into the 2024 Paris Games.

Italy +550

Let’s start with the team that just fell to the men’s volleyball betting favorite in the 2023 European Championship. It wasn’t close, as Italy got swept 3-0, but they still reached the final.

In fact, before getting slapped around by Poland, Italy embarrassed France (3-0). Earning the silver medal in that event is still something you can hang your hat on, while Italy can at least say they won the European Championship recently (2021).

Italy also secured first place at the 2022 World Championship, where they oddly enough outlasted Poland. They admittedly failed to make much noise in Tokyo (6th), but they’ve otherwise done quite well in the Olympics with five medals won dating back to 1996.

The overall experience and Olympics success keeps Italy on my radar, while I like that they’ve been able to go deep into meaningful volleyball tournaments recently.

France +600

I don’t know why the defending world champions are being disrespected, but here we are. The French have a lot working in their favor, and of course took home the gold the last time they were in the Olympics.

That was a tight 3-2 affair with Russia, of course, and it’s also the only medal this country has won in this event since it got going back in 1964.

That kind of historic win is obviously pretty magical, but perhaps demanding an encore is a bit of a reach. Still, France has been busy since this iconic win, with a bronze medal showing at the 2022 World Championship and a bronze medal at the 2021 Nations League.

They also managed to finish fourth in the 2023 European Championship, while their biggest win came with a first place finish at the Nations League in 2024.

The French haven’t completely fallen away from who they were when they secured gold in Tokyo, but it’s fair to say they also aren’t some dominant presence in the world of men’s volleyball.

I’d absolutely keep them in my pool of countries worth betting on to win gold, however.

United States +750

Perhaps the most alluring men’s Olympic volleyball contender is Team USA. Obviously the United States are projected to win a ton in Paris, but their men’s volleyball team is weirdly underrated.

The US did claim gold in 2008 in Beijing, but that admittedly feels like forever ago. Even so, they placed again with the bronze medal in 2016, and they’ve now earned five medals in this field dating back to 1984.

Volleyball was first created in the US, so it only makes sense that their teams would at least be a major problem for their overseas counterparts. That thought hasn’t always led to them winning medals, but they’ve often at least been competitive.

Everyone was reminded of that at the FIVB Qualifier Tournament, with the US going 7-0 with 20 points and a 1.287 set point ratio. Only Germany had more points (21), while no other country had a better set point ratio.

In addition to that strong showing, Team USA has also racked up recent wins in the 2023 FIVB Nations League (second place) and the 2023 Japan World Cup (first place).

Coming into the Paris Games playing their best ball, the Americans could be a real force in this competition.

Best 2024 Paris Olympics Men’s Volleyball Value Bet

There are a few men’s Olympic volleyball sleepers to consider for 2024. Slovenia showed their grit with a bronze medal at the 2023 European Championship and offer nice value at +900.

Brazil is also in play with +800 odds, as they nearly won the bronze medal in Tokyo, and won gold in 2016. They seem to always have a shot, as they’ve placed in five consecutive Olympics.

However, my favorite men’s volleyball value bet is Argentina.

This is mostly a price play, but how are we not getting excited about Argentina when looking at their +1600 odds? It’s entirely plausible to anticipate them working their way to the gold medal game, seeing as they secured the bronze medal four years ago in Tokyo.

Argentina also only played in that game because they fell to France, who obviously went on to win gold. 

They don’t have a bunch of other big wins to force us to buy into any potential momentum, but they did win silver at the 2023 Pan American Games. When you look at experience, recent success, and price, that’s enough to get them on my radar.

I also should mention Egypt, which is the mother of all long shots at an insane +50000.

They could be a fun story to track, as they’ve yet to win a medal in men’s volleyball at the Olympics. They have had some recent success, though, as they won the bronze medal at the 2024 Challenger Cup and secured gold at the 2023 African Championship. 

2024 Men’s Volleyball Gold Medal Winner Prediction

I think you can make a pretty strong case for a few teams this year when looking at the men’s Olympic volleyball tournament. However, I am mostly interested in two squads.

For value, Team USA at +750 probably interests me the most. You can find better pricing, but they’ve been really good in recent tournaments, and they have historically been a problem.

When looking at the qualification tourney to get here, I do think Poland stands out as the best team. It makes complete sense that they’re the betting favorite.

Their new head coach has had them playing elite volleyball the past two years, and it’s led to two titles and a trip to the Olympics. It’s worth noting that they were arguably the most complete team during the qualifiers, too. Don’t be shocked if they get to the gold medal game and get it done in Paris.

Bet: Poland +350