Aleksa Avramovic (R) of Serbia drives toward the rim in the FIBA Basketball World Cup European qualifier game against Great Britain in Belgrade, Serbia, February 27, 2023. /CFP
All 32 teams qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023 have been confirmed after Serbia beat Great Britain 101-83 on Monday to secure the final berth for the tournament in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia between August 25 and September 10.
The 32 teams are:
Cote d'Ivoire, South Sudan, Egypt, Angola and Cape Verde from Africa
Canada, USA, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Brazil from the Americas
The Philippines, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Australia, China, Jordan and Iran from Asia
Latvia, Greece, Germany, Finland, Slovenia, France, Lithuania, Spain, Italy, Georgia, Montenegro and Serbia from Europe
Facundo Campazzo (#7) of Argentina looks disappointed after the 79-75 loss to the Dominican Republic in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas qualifier game at the Islas Malvinas stadium in Buenos Aires province, Argentina, February 26, 2023. /CFP
Argentina, which were the runners-up in the World Cup in 2019 in China, failed to qualify for the tournament after losing to the Dominican Republic 79-75 on February 26. They will miss the tournament for the first time in 41 years.
The draw for this year's World Cup will take place in the Pilipino capital city of Manila on April 29. The two host teams, the Philippines and Japan will both play at home – the third host Indonesia failed to qualify for the tournament. All three hosts have selected preferred teams to play in their respective countries during the group stage for commercial reasons.
USA will play in the Philippines; Slovenia will go to Japan; Canada will compete in Indonesia.
Cui Yongxi (#19) of China dunks in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifier game against Iran in south China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, February 26, 2023. /CFP
China must perform well in the World Cup to secure early qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. The tournament this year will generate seven of the 12 qualified teams for Paris 2024. Two of these berths will go to the best-performing teams of Asia and Oceania. That means China must achieve a better record than the Philippines, Japan, Lebanon, Jordan and Iran.
China appointed a new head coach, Aleksandar Djordjevic, in November 2022. The team beat Kazakhstan and Iran in their final two World Cup Asian qualifier games in south China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region last week.