FIBA World Cup 2019: USA vs Brazil - Match Preview & Predictions

Match details

Fixture: USA vs Brazil

Date & Time: Monday 9th September - 8:30 AM (ET)/6:00 PM (IST)/8:30 PM (PHT)

Venue: Shenzhen Bay Sports Center, Shenzhen

Last game result

USA: 69-53 victory over Greece (September 7th)

Brazil: 71-93 defeat to Czech Republic (September 7th)

Match overview

Ever since the Turkish scare, USA have bounced back to regain their much-awaited dominance on FIBA courts. The 53-point thrashing of Japan was quickly followed by an impressive win over Giannis and his Greek squad. In doing so somehow, Popovich and his men have been unbeaten in their FIBA World Cup campaign so far.

On the other hand, Brazil were undefeated as well, until the Czech got the better of them in a second-round clash just recently. Nevertheless, they bested Greece, New Zealand and Montenegro to top Group F and cannot be taken lightly.

Key players

USA - Kemba Walker

The Americans tend to find multiple crucial scorers as the tournament progresses, but 29-year-old Walker has been one consistent performer for them. He is averaging a fairly decent 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game across the four contests played so far, along with an efficient 47% shooting accuracy from the field on just one turnover per game.

Brazil - Leandro Barbosa

The former Golden State Warrior scored as high as 22 points in his team's very first game of the tournament and seems to have found his groove in China. Having played a little over 20 minutes on average across the 4 games, the Brazilian is averaging 13.5 points per game, shooting 50% from deep.

Predicted starting lineups

USA: Kemba Walker, Donovan Mitchell, Harrison Barnes, Myles Turner, Khris Middleton

Brazil: Rafa Luz, Anderson Varejao, Alex Garcia, Leandro Barbosa, Victor Benite

Match prediction

After getting the best of Giannis through active defense, Team USA are more confident than ever. Both USA and Brazil have shot equally well from the field, so it will eventually come down to who can outwork their opposition down the stretch. And that is when the Americans might edge past the Brazilians for a gritty win.