SHANGHAI (China) - A spot in the Semi-Finals of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 is at stake as 2006 champs Spain take on surprise unit Poland in an all-European clash in Shanghai's Oriental Sports Center. 

Spain will be forewarned to remember the last time they went into a World Cup Quarter-Finals as a favorite against another European foe. The Spanish were playing at home in 2014 and watched as France came to Madrid and ended the hosts' dreams of claiming a second title in front of their home fans.

It wouldn't be a surprise if head coach Sergio Scariolo or some of Spain's veterans don't bring up that game. 

Poland on the other hand will have the freedom of playing loose as all the expectations will be on the Spanish. That will not make the task any easier for Poland but Mike Taylor and Co. know they have already achieved more than what many thought possible.

Team Overview - Spain: Spain have not yet lost in China, knocking off Tunisia, Puerto Rico and Iran in Group C in the First Round before defeating fellow European powers Italy and Serbia in the Second Round Group J for first place with a 5-0 record.

Team Overview - Poland: Poland have been one of the surprises of the tournament, taking first place in Group A with wins over Venezuela, China and Cote d'Ivoire. Coach Taylor's men locked up a Quarter-Finals spot with their victory over Russia in the Second Round Group I before dropping their first game of the tournament against Argentina. 

Key Matchup: Spain's Rudy Fernandez (and Sergio Llull) v Mateusz Ponitka of Poland. While A.J. Slaughter is Poland's point guard, shooting guard Pontika ends up creating most of the offense for the team. Fernandez (and Llull) will need to be at the top of his game as Ponitka has been one of the best players in this tournament. 

As goes Ponitka, so go Poland

X-Factor: Experience. Poland had not played in the World Cup since 1967 while it seems like Spain have been winning international medals over those last 52 years. Poland may not have any pressure, having already done more than most people expected them to do. They will have to try no tot become overwhelmed by the moment because this is old hat for Spain.

Stats Don't Lie: Poland and Spain actually rank closely in many statistics but one major outlier is Poland's three-point shooting as they are 27th at 29.9 percent with Spain at 31.0 percent for 21st. Also Spain are sixth in assists at 21.6 per game compared to Poland's 21st-ranked 17.4 assists. Spain also have been downright impressive with their team defense, giving up just 63.8 points a game, including keeping an Italian team averaging 92.3 points to just 60 points and then shutting down the Serbian offense to 69 points after they had averaged 103.3 points coming into the final Second Round game. Poland are allowing 74.5 points a game after giving up 91 points to Argentina - the first time they conceded more than 76 points. 

They Said: "We are far away from the offensive talent we had in previous years. So if we want to compete against great teams we have to play not good defense but great defense. This is our fate. This is our road map. If we follow it, we can compete. In a single game you have a chance against anybody, but only if you play really, really top defense." - Spain head coach Sergio Scariolo

"I'm so proud of our team for what we have accomplished here, getting to the Quarter-Finals. I think that's a big surprise for everyone. It's great experience for everyone on our team to be at this level and on this stage. You could see (against Argentina) we didn't respond how we needed to. We want to learn from this game, what we can take from it and the adjustments we need to make to play better against defensive pressure." - Poland head coach Mike Taylor

"It's just another opportunity for us to go out and show that we can compete against teams like this. Tonight (against Argentina) wasn't an example of that. We feel we can compete better. And hopefully that's what we'll go out and do on Tuesday." - Poland point guard A.J. Slaughter

FIBA