MADRID, September 7 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The United States are the big favorites to reach the final of the Basketball World Championship, which is played in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, in their semi-final duel against a Germany which seeks “the impossible “, while Serbia and Canada will experience an equivalent and unprecedented “semi-final” in which the Canadians will seek a historic assist for what would be their first World Cup final.

The two finalists will meet again this Friday after two semi-finals full of surprises and unknowns. On the one hand, because Germany is back in the “Top 4” despite the absence of big stars in its team and because it will now face the United States which, “warned” by Lithuania, beat the ‘Italy in the quarter-finals with all the necessary equipment to stop. .

In the other semi-final, Canada, which expelled among others Spain – still defending world champions until Sunday – eliminated the powerful Slovenia managed by Luka Doncic and, in its best performance in the World Cup , did not want to be stopped by the surprising Serbia led by Svetislav Pesic. The stakes are therefore high in the two semi-finals.

The one that probably starts with the most favoritism is the United States. The team led by Steve Kerr will face Germany (2:40 p.m. in Spain) and know that, barely pressing the defense and dismantling the German machine, they will have a foot and a half in this final where they will try to recover their throne lost.

Winners of five World Cups, the last in 2014 in Spain, the Americans reached this World Championship without big flashy stars, without a “Dream Team”, but they nevertheless continue to be the main candidates for the title, led by the Timberwolves . guard Anthony Edwards (17.3 points per game).

Of course, Germany are in the semi-finals for the first time since 2002 and are undefeated in this World Cup. The Germans, yes, suffered a lot to eliminate Latvia (81-79) in the quarter-finals, in a duel where their great figure, the leader Dennis Schroder, was more than thick, with 4/26 on shots.

On the other hand, the Canada of Spanish coach Jordi Fernández will face the powerful Serbia of Pesic. Nice bench duel between a young coach who rises like foam in order to have a franchise in the NBA and a veteran coach, nicknamed “grandfather” with affection in Barcelona.

However, the passage to the final will be more on track. In it, Serbia and Canada (Friday 10:45 a.m. Spanish time) will fight to reach their first World Cup final, against the North Americans, and to get back there – after nine years of absence – in the event of the Serbs.

Without a doubt, the most vibrant duel will be between the great Canadian star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, the Serbian reference of this Championship. Bogdanovic is averaging 18.8 points with 4.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals, while Gilgeous-Alexander is just about everything for Canada (25 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5 assists decisive and 1.7 steals per game).