The United States and Canada fear, Doncic withdraws Slovenia, and Spain is full

Jakarta, August 30 (EFE).- Spain finished the first group stage of the World Cup on Wednesday with a victory over Iran (65-85) and is already preparing for the second stage, where it will face Latvia and Canada for a place. In the quarter-finals.

Arriving with complete victories helps to face the second stage with more peace of mind, but it does not prevent Spain from having to win, at least, one of its matches, whether on Friday against Latvia (11.45 CET), one of its matches in the world. Reveal the cup; Or next Sunday against Canada, one of the favorites to win (3:30pm CET).

The first match against Latvia. In case of victory, Spain will not be able to celebrate yet, waiting for the duel between the Canadians and the Brazilians. Scariolo’s team will only be seeded in the event of a win over Latvia, if Canada beats Brazil.

On the other hand, if Spain beats Latvia and Brazil beats Canada, we will have to wait until Sunday to find out who will qualify. Because if Brazil wins over Latvia, and Canada wins over Spain, there will be a three-way tie (4 wins each and 1 loss each) that can be undone given the confrontations between the three.

What is certain is that defeat to Latvia will significantly complicate the path to the quarter-finals, as Spain will have to overcome Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Canada on Sunday.

Also thinking about the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, since the top two European teams in this World Cup will get a direct place for Paris 2024, Spain wants to be in the quarter-finals. That is the goal, Scariolo insisted again in a press conference after the win over Iran. From there anything can happen.

In this case, there is also the strange situation that the team that enters in second place in this Group L, which includes Spain, Canada, Latvia and Brazil, will avoid facing the United States in the semifinals, the first favorite, as long as it does not fail on its side of the frame. Or what is the same, the first in Group L will play a virtual semi-final against Anthony Edwards and company.

Canada and Spain could arrive at Sunday’s duel having already qualified, but with their focus on avoiding the American “bogeyman” and on a potential strategy for the knockout stage draw.

As for the calculations, yes, there will be time. The first hurdle is Latvia and Spain need to win to avoid complicating the goal of reaching the quarter-finals.