Jordan Drawn with US, Lebanon with France in Basketball World Cup

A general view of the draw ceremony of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, April 29, 2023. (Reuters)
A general view of the draw ceremony of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, April 29, 2023. (Reuters)
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Jordan Drawn with US, Lebanon with France in Basketball World Cup

A general view of the draw ceremony of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, April 29, 2023. (Reuters)
A general view of the draw ceremony of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, April 29, 2023. (Reuters)

The United States will open Basketball World Cup play against New Zealand this summer, with Greece and Jordan also awaiting the Americans in the group stage.

And the earliest the US can see France in an Olympic final rematch is the semifinals.

FIBA held the World Cup draw in Manila on Saturday, when the 32 teams that qualified for the field found out their initial matchups for the tournament that runs from Aug. 25 through Sept. 10.

The Americans — the four-time defending Olympic champions who finished seventh at the most recent World Cup in 2019 — play New Zealand on Aug. 26, then face Greece and likely Giannis Antetokounmpo on Aug. 28, and conclude group-stage play Aug. 30 against Jordan.

"It's comforting to kind of know who we’re playing," USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill said. "The big unknown has been there since we started planning and preparing. And at least now we have an idea of who we’re playing and who we potentially could be playing in the second round."

The US will play all its group stage games in Manila, while Jakarta, Indonesia, and Okinawa, Japan, will also play host to some group games. Medal rounds are in Manila, so the US won't have to travel at all during the tournament.

The Americans will play Greece in August at Abu Dhabi in an exhibition. They met in the World Cup at China four years ago. Antetokounmpo is expected to play for Greece; his Milwaukee Bucks were hoping for a deep NBA playoff run but lost to the Miami Heat in Round 1.

"They were eliminated recently, so Giannis will have maybe a longer offseason than he's had in recent years," Hill said. "That's scary."

The Americans — who will be coached by Golden State's Steve Kerr in the tournament — were drawn into Group C, one of eight four-team groups for the opening round. The US is planning to announce its roster in June or July.

"To our friends around the world, join our new ‘Thrilla in Manila,’ the 2023 Basketball World Cup edition," said Manuel Pangilinan, a FIBA Central Board member from the Philippines — using the phrase coined for the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight in Manila in 1975.

Defending World Cup champion Spain is in Group G, with Iran, Ivory Coast and Brazil as its opening opponents.

France — which plans to have Victor Wembanyama on its roster — is in Group H, along with Canada, Latvia and Lebanon.

France beat the Americans in the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Cup, eliminating the US from medal contention and starting the spiral to a seventh-place finish at that event, the worst finish ever for an American team featuring NBA players.

France topped the US again at the Tokyo Olympics in group play — but the Americans won the game that mattered most, topping France 87-82 for the gold medal.

They haven’t played since Tokyo but are still going head-to-head. Philadelphia center Joel Embiid — an MVP finalist this season, and the presumed favorite — said before the season that he’s deciding whether to play internationally for the US or France at the Paris Olympics. He became an American citizen last year.

Group breakdown

All teams in each group play one another in the opening round. The top two teams from each group move on to the second round; the bottom two teams move into a classification tournament to determine 17th through 32nd places at the event.

Teams are listed with their world ranking.

Group A, Manila: Angola (41), Dominican Republic (23), Philippines (40), Italy (10).

Group B, Manila: South Sudan (62), Serbia (6), China (27), Puerto Rico (20).

Group C, Manila: United States (2), Jordan (33), Greece (9), New Zealand (26).

Group D, Manila: Egypt (55), Mexico (31), Montenegro (18), Lithuania (8).

Group E, Okinawa: Germany (11), Finland (24), Australia (3), Japan (36).

Group F, Okinawa: Slovenia (7), Cape Verde (64), Georgia (32), Venezuela (17).

Group G, Jakarta: Iran (22), Spain (1), Ivory Coast (42), Brazil (13).

Group H, Jakarta: Canada (15), Latvia (29), Lebanon (43), France (5).

Tournament format

The two teams that advance from each group will play two other teams in the second round in new groups: The top two finishers in Group A will play the top two from Group B, the top two from Group C will play Group D's two best and the same pattern follows — Group E plays Group F, Group G plays Group H.

That means, in the second round, if the Americans advance they will play two of these four teams — Egypt, Mexico, Montenegro and Lithuania.

That second round will determine the eight quarterfinalists.

Quarterfinal games are Sept. 5 and 6. Semifinals are Sept. 8 and the games for gold and bronze medals are Sept. 10.

At stake

The World Cup is FIBA’s biggest tournament, plus it serves as a way to qualify for next year's Paris Olympics.

With the expectation that France will be added as an automatic qualifier for the Olympics as host — probably no more than a formality, with FIBA not planning to decide until June 30 — there will be seven teams automatically qualifying for berths in the 12-team Olympic tournament.

The top two World Cup finishers from Europe and the Americas, as well as one from Africa, Asia and Oceania, will earn berths into Paris 2024.

Venue news

The draw capped a three-day run of news out of Manila — some expected, some not.

The original plan to hold the medal rounds in a 55,000-seat arena were scrapped Thursday over several concerns, including the lack of a traffic scheme that could accommodate such a crowd.

The Philippines will play its first two group-stage games in that arena with hopes of setting a World Cup attendance record, but the medal rounds will be at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila — where the US will play its games in the group stage.

And on Friday, FIBA announced that the 2027 World Cup was awarded to Qatar.



Bayern Munich’s Thomas Mueller Says he Will Leave Club at Season End

FILED - 23 October 2024, Spain, Barcelona: Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller applauds the fans after the UEFA Champions League soccer match between FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa
FILED - 23 October 2024, Spain, Barcelona: Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller applauds the fans after the UEFA Champions League soccer match between FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa
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Bayern Munich’s Thomas Mueller Says he Will Leave Club at Season End

FILED - 23 October 2024, Spain, Barcelona: Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller applauds the fans after the UEFA Champions League soccer match between FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa
FILED - 23 October 2024, Spain, Barcelona: Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller applauds the fans after the UEFA Champions League soccer match between FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa

Bayern Munich crowd favorite Thomas Mueller will leave the German record champions at the end of the season after 25 years at the club because he was not offered another contract, he said on Saturday.
In a message on social media, the 35-year-old attacking midfielder, who started as a youth player and won a record 12 league crowns with Bayern - the most by any Bundesliga player - said he would have liked to stay on.
"Even after all these years, regardless of the minutes I play, I still really enjoy being on the pitch with the lads and fighting for titles together for our team. I could have easily imagined taking on this role next year as well," Reuters quoted him as saying.
"However, the club consciously decided not to negotiate a new contract with me for next season. Even if this wasn't in line with my personal wishes, it's important that the club follows its convictions. I respect this step, which the board and supervisory board certainly didn't take lightly."
He did not make any reference to the next step of his club career.
Mueller, for years a guaranteed starter, had seen his playing time drop sharply in the last two seasons and now only plays a minor role under coach Vincent Kompany.
His future has been the subject of intense speculation for several months but until now, both the club and the player have stayed silent. While there is no indication that Mueller will retire from football any time soon, Bayern have hinted they would like him to get involved with the club following the end of his playing days.
A one-club player, a rarity in top football these days, Mueller also won two Champions League titles, two club World Cups and six German Cups with Bayern among other titles. He also helped Germany to the 2014 World Cup.
Mueller could add more titles this season to his bulging trophy cabinet, with Bayern leading the title race by a nine-point advantage. They also face Italy's Inter Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals next week.
The Champions League final will be held in Munich's Allianz Arena.
"Now our full focus is on our sporting goals for the season," Mueller said. "It would be a dream for me to bring the league trophy back home and reach the long-awaited final at home at the end of May."