Eight teams are left in the FIBA basketball World Cup, as the competition reaches the knockout round after two group stages.
Team USA's bid to become the first team to win the World Cup three times in a row remains intact after the defending champions won all five games in the two group stages of the 2019 tournament, currently being held in China.
The Americans beat Brazil 89-74 in their final group game on Monday, securing top spot in Group K and booking a ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the process.
The win against Brazil means the U.S. will face France in the quarterfinals in Dongguan on Wednesday, after Les Bleus finished second in Group L behind Australia.
Both teams arrived into the final group game unbeaten and France relinquished a nine-point lead in the third quarter to lose 100-98.
By beating France, the Boomers have earned themselves a quarterfinal against the Czech Republic, who has defied the odds to reach the knockout stage in its first World Cup as an independent country.
The win over Les Bleus also means Australia and Team USA will not cross paths until a potential meeting in the final as either France or the U.S. will face the winner of the first quarterfinal, which pits together Argentina and Serbia.
The former, who is looking to reach a semifinal for the first time since 2006, has a perfect record so far in the tournament, while the Eagles finished behind Spain in Group J after a defeat to their European rivals.
Despite the loss to Spain, Serbia remains one of the best teams in the tournament and has a roster stacked with NBA talent including the likes of Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nemanja Bielica and Boban Marjanovic.
Serbia has finished second in three of its last four major tournaments and will be smarting to get their hands on a first world title as an independent country—they won back-to-back World Cups as Yugoslavia in 1998 and 2002.
Australia or Czech Republic, meanwhile, will face the winner of the game between Spain and Poland.
Like Argentina, Spain is looking to reach a first World Cup semifinals in 13 years and it has emerged as one of the dark horses of the tournament after topping a group containing Italy and Serbia.
La Roja has a very experienced roster, which includes a host of faces familiar to NBA fans, such as Marc Gasol and Ricky Rubio and it should prove too strong for Poland.
In its first World Cup since 1967, the Poles have already got farther than expected but it would be a major surprise if they were to upset Spain.
Here's all you need to know about the quarterfinals.
TV channel
The FIBA World Cup is not broadcast on TV in the U.S., but there are plenty of other ways to keep up with the action.
Live stream
Live stream for every game of the 2019 FIBA World Cup will be available via ESPN+ and via FIBA's official website.
Quarterfinal schedule (All times ET)
Tuesday, September 10
- Argentina vs Serbia, 7 a.m.
- Spain vs Poland, 9 a.m.
Wednesday, September 11
- Team USA vs France, 7 a.m.
- Australia vs Czech Republic, 9 a.m.
Odds
According to data compiled by Oddschecker, Team USA remains the odds-on favorite to win the tournament.
The defending champions are 19/20 to make lift the World Cup for a third consecutive time, with Serbia the closest challenger at 9/2.
Spain and France are at 19/1 and 31/1 respectively, while Australia and Argentina are 40/1 and 85/1 outsiders and Czech Republic and Poland are 250/1 and 400/1 long shots.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he was a news and business reporter at International Business Times UK. Dan has also written for The Guardian and The Observer.
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