An electrifying Quarter-Finals day awaits at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup as eight nations lock horns to make the last four as the race towards the podium strengthens. We have prepared a well-structured report to guide you about each Quarter-Finals matchup and who is most likely to turn the table around.
USA vs Serbia
The USA are heading with an unbeaten record 5-0 after winning 27 successive games in the competition. Meanwhile, Serbia are 3-2 having lost to Canada and Australia.
Head to head:
It was FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2014 when Serbia faced the USA on their debut and lost the game 94-74. They also suffered defeats to the USA in the Rio Olympics (110-84) and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (79-59) Semi-Finals, respectively.
Key matchup: The Gameday 5 Top Performers guards Kelsey Plum and Yvonne Anderson both made the list and will be crucial for their respective teams. Though she came late, Plum is now significantly influencing American culture. To prevent the sleek USA from continuing to run and gun, which has been a basis to blow practically everyone away, Anderson needs to manage the tempo for her squad.
The United States are heartless in punishing mistakes and profiting from them. They score an astounding 30.4 points per game off turnovers, more than twice Serbia’s average. They accrue 24.4 fast break points, which is three times as many as they do otherwise. When you consider that Serbia commits more turnovers than any other team still playing in the competition, they are hardly encouraging indicators.
Puerto Rico vs Canada
Gone are the days when Puerto used to lose on arrival as they lost the first-ever game by 50 points back in 2018. This year, they just don’t have a first-ever victory, they have two. They qualified for the Quarter-Finals for the first time thanks to their 2-3 result in the group stage. Canada performed admirably in the meantime, going 4-1 with the exception of a close loss to Australia.
Head to Head:
Although the teams have frequently faced off at the continental level, they have never faced off at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. Up until the Semifinals of the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup last year, when Puerto Rico shocked Canada with a 65-61 victory, Canada had won every first matchup.
China vs France
China made an exceptional start and finished with 4-1 in their group stage after losing to the unbeaten USA. France had a roller-coaster and racked up a 3-2 figure, losing to Canada and Serbia.
They’ve faced off twice at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, with China winning a nail-biting match 66-64 back in 2006 and France winning the most recent tournament in Tenerife 81-67. However, it’s interesting to note that both countries competed against one another to qualify for Sydney, with China winning 103-70 at the qualifying tournament in Belgrade back in February.
Belgium vs Australia
Despite losing an opening night game against France, Australia surpassed the group with a 4-1 record. Belgium were 2-2 after losing to China and USA, but thrashing Bosnia and Herzegovina and Puerto Rico pushed them to the Quarter-Finals.
This is the first time both sides are going to face each other, with Australia having many advantages over Belgium in terms of form and consistent play. Australia will be flying high to make things happen in their favor. Australia are among the only two teams along with the USA to qualify for every FIBA Women’s World Cup Quarter-Finals.
Comments