Finland – Australia

World Cup Group Stage Round 1
Okinawa, August 25, 10:00 CET

As the first day of the World Cup approached, the Finnish and Australian national teams seemed more and more convincing offensively in their preparatory games. Their duel in the first round of the group stage in Okinawa on Friday will be a feast of fast-paced transitional basketball.
In the last match before the World Cup, Finland lost to Latvia, even 94:57. However, the Finns played in that match without an absolutely key player, power forward Lauri Markkanen. Behind the Utah Jazz star in the NBA league is the best season of his career, in which he recorded a great 25.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Markkanen is also one of the candidates for the best scorer at the World Cup, he is the absolute leader of the team - and with him in the team, Finland plays fast, with many open shots for three points.
During August, Finland played two matches against Lithuania – in the first one they beat one of the best European teams 81:79, and then lost 84:80 in the duel played on August 14. Also, Estonia was defeated 86:80. A similar match, in which both teams will have the opportunity to express themselves offensively, is expected against the excellent Australia.
The Australians deserved to come to the World Cup with great ambitions. In five matches during the preparations, they achieved four victories, the last of which over Georgia 86:81 and the European vice-champion France 78:74 were really impressive editions. This attacking national team showed their power in triumphs over South Sudan 88:67 and Venezuela 97:41... The only defeat, against Brazil 90:86, fits into that image of high-tempo matches in which both teams have a chance to run transitional attacks and convert them with success.
In the opening three quarters of match against Georgia on August 22, Australia scored as many as 71 points, and then the main players were rested at the end of the duel. This is the best evidence of the attacking potential of an exceptionally well-coordinated national team.
There are as many as nine NBA players in the Australian team. A particularly important role, in addition to veteran guard Patty Mills and guard-forward Joe Ingles, will be played by the ever-improving guard Josh Giddey from the Oklahoma City Thunder. In the season behind us, the 203cm tall athlete had 16.6 points per game in the NBA, he may be the main offensive option of the national team for this game against Finland. Centers Reath and Key will primarily play an important role in defense.
It is to be expected that during the match Australia will also play a variant of the "small ball" tactic, which will further speed up the game and increase the number of three-point shots. It is no coincidence that this national team is third in the FIBA world rankings, they have been playing together for a long time and are capable of dominating in offense against good opponents.
However, this duel is expected to be an uncertain fight until the end of the match - with a large number of three-pointers made by both sides. These teams are aware that the inspiration of the key players in the attack brings them triumph.