Serbia beat Italy 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23 in Pool G of the third round, while China defeated The Netherlands 23-25, 25-13, 25-18, 25-17 in Pool H.

The semi-finals are due to be played in Yokohama on Friday (October 19) with Serbia facing The Netherlands and China going up against Italy.

All four teams had already qualified before today's games. 

Powered once again by Tijana Bošković, who scored 29 points, Serbia put an end to Italy's 10-match winning streak at this World Championship to top Pool G.

"We knew we had made the semi-finals after beating Japan [on Sunday (October 14)]," Bošković said.

"Italy is a high-level team.

"We are happy with the performance and hope to play well in the semi-finals."

Italy’s Paola Egonu extended her lead in the race to finish top scorer at the World Championships after she bagged 28 points.

Rio 2016 Olympic champions China, meanwhile, came back from behind to overcome The Netherlands in four sets.

Zhu Ting scored 19 points and Yuan Xinyue added 16 to cancel out Lonneke Slöetjes' match-high 26.

The result means China top Pool H.

"It was a tough match," China coach Lang Ping said.

"We only have two games left.

"We have played excellent teams who have given us troubles, but we will prepare in the next two days.

"Italy is a strong team - we will analyse and prepare for the match with them."

The fifth-place play-off between Japan and 2014 champions the United States is also scheduled to be played on Friday.

The third-place play-off and final are set to be held on Saturday (October 20), also in Yokohama.

If China and Serbia both win their semi-finals, there will be a repeat of the Rio 2016 gold medal match in the final.