The field for the 2023 World Cup has been finalized, with Serbia (ranked the sixth-best team by FIBA) clinching the last spot after defeating Great Britain on Monday, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic could suit up for Serbia this summer, making the team one of the potential favorites.
One surprising omission from the field was No. 4-ranked Argentina, which lost its final contest in an upset to the Dominican Republic. Argentina won the silver medal during the last World Cup in 2019, Reynolds notes, with No. 1 Spain winning gold (No. 5 France was the bronze medalist). The U.S. (No. 2) finished seventh in 2019.
In addition to the aforementioned ranked teams, No. 3 Australia, No. 7 Slovenia, No. 8 Lithuania, No. 9 Greece, No. 10 Italy and No. 11 Germany all qualified. There will be two first-round groups that include two of those teams, Reynolds adds.
Other notable national teams that failed to qualify for the tournament include No. 12 Czech Republic, No. 14 Poland, No. 16 Turkey, No. 19 Nigeria, No. 22 Tunisia and No. 23 Croatia, tweets Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com.
The full 32-team field is as follows, per Sportando:
- Africa: Angola, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, South Sudan
- Americas: Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, USA, Venezuela
- Asia: Australia, China, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Philippines
- Europe: France, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain
Cape Verde, South Sudan, Georgia and Latvia will all be making their basketball World Cup debuts.
The tournament is set to run this summer, from August 25 to September 10. During the first round, the Philippines will host 16 teams, while Japan and Indonesia will host eight apiece. The final round will take place in the Philippines.