USA eyes to book their tickets in the semi-finals of the World Cup when they meet with Italy for their quarterfinals match. In fact, USA faced a shocking defeat against Lithuania as they end the second round of their group stage. This does not give them a good momentum, and have showed the weakness of the young USA squad. As for Italy, they are from a73-57 win against Puerto Rico, which somehow gives them a confidence here. That win is actually not surprising anymore, since they are actually playing well in their campaign. Italy won four of their five matches in the World Cup, with their only loss coming from the Dominican Republic. The meeting between these two powerhouse teams is on September 5, 2023, at 8:40 PM (GMT+8).
USA
USA dominated their first round, securing all three wins in the first round, which just shows how dominating they are. However, during the second round, they actually struggled, especially against Montenegro and Lithuania. They are 4-1 in their five matches in the group stage from both rounds, with that one loss coming against Lithuania. On that match, it seems like the USA team is not playing the way they used to play. They even allowed USA to build a dominating leave, which USA failed to climb back from. Moreover, during their match against Montenegro, rebounding have been their problem, as they were outrebounded. This is an area they need to improve if they want to win against the giants of Italy. They can defend all Italy players one-on-one. The USA team is expected to enter the next match with maximum focus and a strong desire to win.
USA is with a healthy squad coming into this match. Although they are a young team, that does not change the fact that this squad is a skilled one. After all, considering their recent results, they were already able to build chemistry.
Italy
Italy, a team that suffered a defeat against the Dominican Republic in the first round, secured a spot among the top eight teams at the FIBA World Cup with two wins against Serbia and Puerto Rico. Simone Fontecchio, the top scorer and second-best rebounder, and Stefano Tonut and Marco Spissu stand out in the guard positions, averaging over 11 points per game. However, Italian fans may be concerned about their poor three-point shooting, which has been slightly above 31% in previous stages. Italy’s outstanding performances in the second phase have rewarded them with a matchup against the top favorite, the USA team. Italy can only secure a win through exceptional shooting performance, as they play with lineups where all five players can shoot from outside, often adopting a five-out formation.
It is just unfortunate that they will be without Nico Mannion, who is one of the notable names who missed their World Cup run.
Prediction:
USA
Total Under: 80.5
Odds: 0.80
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