The USA and Italy are the first teams to qualify for the men’s volleyball tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, after taking the gold and silver medals at the World Cup in Japan, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) has confirmed.

The Americans won their first World Cup in 30 years with a 3-1 win over Argentina in Tokyo on the final day of the round-robin tournament on Wednesday (23 September). Maxwell Holt won the most impressive player award with an 18-point haul, which included spiking home the championship point.

The USA, who have won Olympic gold three times (1984, 1988, 2008), will be among the medal favourites in Rio next year. They finished third in the Rio 2016 test event at the Maracanãzinho in July, although their captain David Lee believes Brazil will be hard to beat on home soil.

 Italy's Ivan Zaytsev spikes another point against Poland in their decisive final game (Photo: Getty Images for FIVB/Atsushi Tomura)

London 2012 Olympic Games bronze medallists Italy had become the first team to qualify for Rio earlier on Wednesday when they shocked world champions Poland, who had been unbeaten in the tournament, which started on 8 September.

Osmany Juantorena scored 25 points for Italy in their 3-1 win over the Poles, who finished the tournament level on points with their conquerors, but with a weaker set ratio.

The USA and Italy join Brazil, who have a place in the 12-team Olympic men’s tournament guaranteed as host nation. The next chances for teams to qualify will be at the continental and world qualifying tournaments.

Three teams are already confirmed for the 12-team Olympic women’s tournament: hosts Brazil, 2015 World Cup winners China and runners-up Serbia, as confirmed by FIVB.

Follow the race to qualify for the Olympic Games

Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota.