The anticipated final

The Basketball World Cup 2023 could hardly have gone better for the German selection. Gordon Herbert’s team can already put a tick behind its first goal. The ticket for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has been solved. Now it’s all about the medals. German basketball fans have had to wait 21 years for a World Cup medal. Whether it might even be enough to make it to the grand final, we check in our USA vs. Germany tip.

The US-Americans were, of course, the big favorites to win the title. However, a world championship is not what the stars from the NBA are necessarily striving for. The triumph in the national league and gold at the Olympic Games are the successes that count much more for the Americans. Nevertheless, the United States, along with the former Yugoslavia, are record world champions with five World Cup titles.

On Sunday, the U.S. could be ahead in this ranking all by itself. First, the German team has to get out of the way, and if we review the course of the tournament up to this point, the DBB giants were not only statistically the best team at this World Cup. Without much thought, we wouldn’t get carried away with predicting the US boys to reach the final in the duel between the USA and Germany.

However, the quotes at the betting provider Interwetten show very clearly how the bookmakers assess the balance of power. The odds for a victory of the US Americans are just in the range of 1.15. Nevertheless, the outsider will certainly expect something after great performances in Japan and the Philippines and perhaps the German selection actually succeeds for the first time ever in a World Cup final.

USA – Statistics & current form

The US have far from all stars in their lineup. Kevin Durant, Steph Curry or LeBron James would have certainly lifted this team to a whole other level and under these circumstances, the team from the United States could certainly have been given the stamp of Dream Team. But now it must go without the big superstars.

Points chasers from the USA

However, it’s not as if Steve Kerr has taken a selection of students to the Far East. The team consists of seasoned NBA players who usually compete at the highest level several times a week. The balance of the last international games is therefore quite respectable. The US boys have won ten of the last eleven international matches.

But that also means that Steve Kerr’s team is vulnerable. The Lithuanians showed how it can be done in the main round, when the Baltics got the upper hand with 110:104. Afterwards, however, the U.S. team showed a reaction. In the quarterfinals, they didn’t give the Italians the slightest chance. It was clear early on that the United States would take a big win.

Mikal Bridges of the Brooklyn Nets was particularly accurate, scoring 24 points in the 100-63 win. Just how balanced the US Boys are, however, is evidenced by the fact that hardly any of the relevant statistics had a USA player in the top ten. On the other hand, the United States is the team with the most points in this World Cup. On average, the Americans score more than 100 points per game. Therefore, the odds of more than 178.5 points between the USA and Germany are also worth considering.

Predicted lineup of USA:
Haliburton, Bridges, Johnson, Ingram, Banchero, Portis, Edwards, Brunson, Hart, Jackson, Kessler, Reaves – Coach: Kerr

Germany – Statistics & current form

If we look purely at the results, Germany is the best team in this World Cup. As the only team, the DBB giants have 6-0 wins on the account. The opponents were certainly not just walk-ins. With Australia and Slovenia, Germany has defeated two very big players and is completely justified in this semifinal and can continue to dream of the first World Cup medal in 21 years

Strength of nerves and team spirit as success factors

The strengths of the German team lie in the individual class of Dennis Schröder or Franz Wagner, but also in a sensational team spirit. When the figureheads have problems, other players from the second row step into the breach. This is what makes Germany so unpredictable. Another factor is their nerves of steel. Against Australia and also against Latvia in the quarterfinals, the German players often made the right decisions in crunch time and thus brought the victories home narrowly.

Even the quarterfinal against Latvia was a wave bath of emotions. It went back and forth. After a weak German start, the match seemed to be decided in favor of the German selection in the middle of the last quarter. In the end, Gordon Herbert’s team shivered its way to an 81-79 victory after the Latvians’ last throw from the outside missed the target with the siren.

It was particularly pleasing that Franz Wagner made his comeback, and in impressive fashion. With 16 points, he was already the top scorer again in his second World Championship game after missing four games. Dennis Schröder, who had real problems for the first time and spoke of one of his worst basketball games, could not put his stamp on the match, but this was absorbed in an impressive manner by the entire team. If the German team, their performance can now also call in the semifinals, then we would between the U.S. and Germany no prediction on a too high victory of the United States.

Predicted lineup of Germany:
Bonga, Lo, Giffey, Voigtmann, F. Wagner, Theis, M. Wagner, Schröder, Hollatz, Thiemann, Obst, Krämer – Coach: Herbert

USA – Germany Direct comparison / H2H balance

In total, the American and German national teams have only crossed paths 13 times to date. Of course, the head-to-head comparison shows a positive record for the United States. After victories, the U.S. is ahead 11-2. The last German victory in a direct duel was over 30 years ago, when they narrowly prevailed in a test match in Frankfurt am Main in June 1993.

The next milestone in the games between the USA and Germany was the 2002 World Cup semifinal in Indianapolis, when the Americans won clearly 104-87. The last encounter was not that long ago. On August 20, Gordon Herbert’s team lost 91-99 in a test match after having taken a clear lead at times, but showed that they can certainly hold their own against the NBA stars.

USA – Germany Tip

There is no point in getting excited about making it to the World Cup semifinals or qualifying for the Olympics just yet, because more is still possible for the German team. Making it to the World Cup finals would be the greatest success of the German basketball players ever. That’s the only place the German men’s focus should go, and we’re sure that’s the case.

There hasn’t been a victory in basketball against the United States for 30 years. But if the time is ripe, it is probably now. Germany has perhaps the best team in its history and 6-0 wins in this World Cup are a reflection of that.

We don’t expect this one to be particularly clear though. Betting on a German handicap win (+10.5 points) sounds interesting. The US boys have marked more than 100 points on average in their six World Cup games. Therefore, a lot of baskets should fall on Friday as well. In the end, we decided to play the betting odds on an American win and a total of more than 178.5 points between the USA and Germany