BERLIN – The World Cup has been a party so far. Every coach and player has spoken about how late their team has come together ahead of the event. It’s hard to think about how good the quality of this competition would be if these nations had a proper camp prior.
While there were probably five tiers of quality across the 16 countries who made their way to Berlin, the gaps between the remaining teams is even thinner than they were a week ago. Of course, the unpredictable nature of a World Cup adds another layer to this as well.
Here are the Quarter-Finals matchups in the order they presented themselves. The team listed first advanced straight to the quarters after finishing atop their cohort in the group phase, while the team named second made their way through the qualifiers.
USA vs Hungary
Hungarian guard Reka Lelik took to the stand after her nations win against Japan in the Quarter-Final qualifier, saying:
“It feels incredible. It’s been 40 years since we’ve been to the Quarter-Finals. I still can’t believe it, I’m in huge shock. This was really a big team effort, like TEAM, with capital letters. What we did today was amazing. I’m so proud of the girls and special thanks to the fans who came here and supported us at the court or from home. Thank you to everybody.”
It’s hard to take a moment to stop and reflect with the non stop nature of the competition, but that’s an incredible accomplisment for Hungary. They’re a nation who rode the wave of hosting the EuroBasket in 2015, bolstering their domestic product. Their national league has attracted strong imports which has raised the level of the compeition and, in turn, the level of Hungarian players.
That has turned into real results in recent years, with a fourth place finish at the 2023 EuroBasket, as well as Dorka Juhasz looking like she’ll have a 10 year WNBA career. These are good signals that things are going in the right direction, and the timeline lines up well with added investment into basketball following their hosting in 2015. But they still have their sights set higher.
Unfortunately, in their way are the United States of America, currently on a 73 year hot streak. The US have looked different to teams of the past, not only in roster makeup but in the fashion they are delivering their blow out wins. The first game they played against China ended up being a 33 point win, slowly but steadily building the lead. It never felt like China were out of that game, but in hindsight, they were never in it. In past years, the US have gotten out to early leads and turned the last three quarters into garbage time. This iteration is almost toying with their food, inspiring hope in their opposition when it’s never really there.
In the press conference after their win against China, Kara Lawson saw how connected her team was against a huge China team:
“Their size in the front court clearly is a matchup problem for, I think, every team in the world. And I thought we did a pretty good job managing that. Then [we] just got a lot of contributions from our players and uh I thought Caitlin [Clark] was terrific coming off the bench, changing the tempo of the game, her playmaking with 11 assists. I thought Stewie’s leadership and defensive communication was excellent. Rhyne Howard and Jackie Young in the first half, I mean, we just had a lot of different people in different moments step up and that’s what that’s what we need. We’re at our best when we have a lot of different people contributing.”
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There were multiple contributions from their backcourt, and Clark saw the value in their front court, following on from her coach:
“This was a different type of basketball game than I’ve probably ever played in my entire life. I’ve never played against a woman of that size. She obviously presented some challenges for us, but you got to give our post players a lot of credit, they really battled. Coach Kara really challenged them before the game to be physical, try to push them out of the paint. If she makes a couple, stay resilient, stay in it. I thought Aliyah [Boston] came in and gave us great minutes guarding her. In the second second half we were able to get a few more buckets in transition especially was when she was in.”
This blend of frontcourt and backcourt will be the preparation against Hungary, who have always packed their talent in their size. 18 year old backup big Kinga Josepovits spoke with The IX Sports about what she is learning on this stage and playing with Juhasz and Virag Takacs-Kiss:
“I mean, everything I can. Everything that they do, I can learn from them, even the small things. But just the, I don’t know, everything that they do, I can improve from that.”
It was palpable that Josepovits meant that she was taking on every finite detail from Takacs-Kiss and Juhasz and that she couldn’t wrap it up in a simple message, which is fair enough. Hungarians are huge. That isn’t just the case for the team on the court, but the people behind the scenes and the fans in the crowd. To be the next big coming up is a huge responsibility and the experience of a World Cup Quarter-Final for Josepovits will pay dividends for years to come.
Size might be the only thing in the US’s way and they dealt with the first challenge there quite handily. They also have great size themselves, so this could end up being a pretty one sided affair in favour of the Americans.
Belgium vs Germany
This will be the game of the day.The purity, polish, class and chemistry that the Belgians bring to the court is marveled at by basketball purists and novice fans alike.
Germany are the hosts and are currently on a three game win streak. They have great size and depth but their youth sometimes gives head coach Olaf Lange a tough question as to what his best five player lineup is on any given night. This will be critical against Belgium, who could have the best five player unit in the tournament when considering experience and connectedness.
Developing basketball nations usually have to find wins along the way. After six failed attempts to qualify for the EuroBasket between 2013 and 2021, Germany made it in 2023. Since then they’ve made sure that they’re a common fixture at EuroBasket, the Olympics and now the World Cup. Lina Sontag has been along for this entire ride and spoke with The IX Sports about the importance of delivering on results to drive development further:
“Over the last games, you could see how much fun we have as a team and I feel like that’s the main reason why we’re playing, like, how we’re playing right now. The results that we’re getting is because we’re playing as a team and obviously that has to do with coaching that has to do with individual development, but it also has to do with team chemistry. And I feel like, over the last few years we’ve built that and obviously the results show our work. It’s very important because if you just keep losing even though you put in the work obviously that’s bad for your mental [and] for the vibe and the team. So it’s good that we can stack our wins right now.”
She also added: “I don’t really think I’ve realized it yet. I realized okay, we just won a game and we did it really well. Like, we had so much fun. And right now, I’m just on that high of winning. But yeah, it’s incredible. It’s the first time ever. So it’s just an incredible feeling and we have to now recover, rest and then get ready for the next opponents of Belgium which is going to be a tough, tough opponent. I’m really happy for the team and I think we deserve it.”
They will be a tough, tough opponent. Belgium is the back to back EuroBasket champions and they seem to be on a mission this World Cup. Like their opponents, they’re also on a three game winning streak and have had three tricky opponents in Turkey, Puerto Rico and Australia. Of the top placing teams in each group, Belgium have been the most tested, which could have them in good stead for anything that they face in the final phase.
Head coach Mike Thibault spoke on his groups adaptability in response to Yann Fernandez from Who Got Next‘s question about whether or not they have a KPI for three pointers:
“No, it’s what the game dictates. It’s how you’re being played. Some nights teams are very conscious of taking away our cuts to the basket, our inside game. Other times, you know, they’re going to come out and contest us at the three. And I think that’s the one of the best things about coaching this team is that they’re able to adjust. Tonight we knew we could get more post touches [against Australia]. But the threes that we were able to get tonight were good looks other than some shot clock ones late. Because we went inside and we got touches in the paint and now you get kickouts where you get easier looks at it. And because we swing the ball quickly, we get some more.
“Yesterday we didn’t make anything inside. But it was one of those games that gave us three opportunities and fortunately we were making them, but it’s not a predetermined plan as far as how many you take. These guys know I like to take a lot of them, but they’ve got to come the right way. They got to come from driving in the paint and kicking it out. Or going inside, we have great post players offensively and so it’s got to be a balance to what we do.”
That’s the not so secret sauce for Belgium. The malleability to effortlessly phase between their strengths means that if you try and take them out of one thing, they go to something that they’re equally as strong at.
It might be close, or it might not be, but it will be a great spectacle as both nations play entertaining basketball and their fans bring a terrific atmosphere. This has all the makings of a game of the tournament type display.
France vs China
France, once again, seems to dodge a proper test. That isn’t to discredit France, quite the opposite actually – it poses quite the risk that they haven’t been evenly matched with an opponent to fine tune their game plan. On their side of the bracket is the winner of Belgium and Germany in the Semi-Final, which will be a tough stage to be faced with challenges for the first time.
But they could answer them, and they’ve showed nothing to the contrary. The positive, of course, is that France has been dominant. They have been so far away from their competition they’re making it look easy. Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press asked coach Jean Aime Toupane about what impressed him the most about his team in their group phase in the post game press conference after their final group game:
“The way they’re living together, the way they committed to the what we want to reach, the way they understand the game. I’ve been leading the national team [for] maybe four years and all the players, they’re mature they know how to share the ball they know how to step out there and just play for their teammates. I think as a coach when you have the team on that level, the chemistry seems easier. Because they have that belief in them, I think that’s the most important thing.”
China has been far from their best. The absence of Li Yueru due to mishandling of her passport has been obvious. Even without her, their size can’t be ignored. Han Xu‘s back up in Zhang Ziyu is half a foot taller than her. Their qualification game against Puerto Rico saw Imani McGee-Stafford have her work cut out for her, coming up against 14 and a half feet of person in the form of Xu and Ziyu.
After the game, head coach Luming Gong said:
“We’re a young team. This is a new Chinese national team, so at this World Cup we would like to take every game, every opportunity to strengthen our foundation. So we can collect more experiences for the future.”
Taking a wide lens, China has only lost to the US. They fought back against Czechia to win the first overtime game in the World Cup since 2018, and they handled Italy by 20 points. These are a great breadth of experiences for Gong’s squad. The French team will be an important experience on top of this. If they can keep things competitive then these are reps that cannot be replicated.
France is unlike Puerto Rico though. They have a depth of size that they can lean on and they’re also better at basketball than China. If China can get to their size advantage, this could be a great challenge for France and help them through the semi’s and beyond. But, once again, it seems like another team France will breeze past.
Spain vs Australia
Spain came out of a very strong group somewhat scathed. It took an historic game from Mali to beat Spain, then they were also matched with Germany and Japan who they took care of quite handily. If Emma Meesseman isn’t the MVP of the tournament so far, then it’s Iyana Martin. After their final game of the group phase against Japan, Martin shared the following in her opening statement in the presser post game:
“We knew it wasn’t an easy game. I think we played an amazing game, a 40 minute game. We stopped their quick offence and their three’s. I’m so happy, I’m so proud of this team. We have extra rest day because of this win, because we’re first in the group. So we’re happy and ready for the Quarter-Finals.”
It was a far cry from their performance against Mali, who shot 9-22 from deep for 41%. Japan is known for their high pace and three point shooting, so it was a telling bounce back from Spain. Although they failed their test against Mali, they had a great tune up to follow against Japan. Rest is rare in a World Cup, so securing that was critical, and places them further ahead of Australia.
This is a gutsy Opals outfit that just won’t quit. They held a 26 point margin late in the third quarter against Italy that was snuffed in impressive fashion from the Italians. They needed to be perfect, and they were, tying the score at 77. But Australia found a way and are facing a Spanish team on a 22 hour turnaround. To add injury to injury, Ezi Magbegor didn’t compete after the first four minutes of the game, another captain lost for Australia. This is an addition to Sami Whitcomb being withdrawn on the eve of the tournament, Alanna Smith not playing after the first half of their first game and Jade Melbourne unavailable to play against Italy due to illness.
So who stepped up? Isobel Borlase. She became the fourth Opal in their rich history to have a 30 point game at a World Cup.
Earlier in the day, when asked what this Opals team was missing, she told The IX Sports: “Nothing.”
Head coach Sandy Brondello spoke with The IX Sports about her inexperienced group adding experiences like the game against Italy, and the importance of coming away with a win:
“The generation changes. After players we had players like Lauren Jackson, Tess Madgen, Marianna Tolo retire, or step away from the game. And then it’s been injuries. I’ve never been in anything quite like that. But then you have to look at the positives and I’m always glass half full. A lot of these players have never been in this moment and to feel the pressure tonight.”
Then Brondello took her own aside, and pointed her thumb towards Borlase:
“I told her before the game that this was her game, she was gonna step up, you felt like she was getting more comfortable. This kids only, 22?” Brondello asked.
“21,” Borlase answered.
“21, people!” Sandy amplified. “So what a great experience for that. I thought Alex Fowler was really good for us. We lost Jade too, so Ally Wilson. And then Zitina [Aokuso]. The only way that you grow is to go through these experiences. Thankful that we won but we can learn a lot from that, just how they felt in that moment and what would they do differently next time. Talbs was the lone warrior out there and thankful for that because she’s had a great tournament.”
It was an exceptional performance for a young group who just needed to find a way to win. They continued the Opals legacy proudly. Zitina Aokuso is now the lone center on the roster and she has stepped up time and time again, in the absence of a WNBA DPOY as well as a perennial All-Defensive team player. Those are two different people by the way.
The challenge against Spain is tough, but yet another terrific experience for a young group. For Spain, their blemish against Mali now feels like it’s in the past. As time has gone on, it was more a product of history from the side of Mali, rather than the house being on fire for Spain. The Spaniards are in the drivers seat to get to the semi’s, but Australia has nothing to lose.
There are set to be a few blowouts in the Quarter-Finals as the World Cup is still separating the wheat from the chaff but the Semi-Finals will be an elite class of basketball. It’s crazy to think that one of the US, France, Belgium or Spain won’t end up with a medal, but that’s the beauty, and the curse, of the World Cup.
