TOKYO (Japan) - The United States women are gunning for a seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal this summer in Tokyo and there aren't many pundits that will be betting against them.

Even so, after this week's draw at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball, which pitted the Americans against a Nigeria team they beat by just five points at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade one year ago, against a French team that is No. 5 in the FIBA World Ranking, Presented by Nike, and against No. 10 Japan, who are hosts, a seventh consecutive gold may not be so straightforward.

"Nigeria is getting better every year, France is always a tough team to play and Japan has such a different style of play than what were used to seeing, plus they're the home team," USA coach Dawn Staley said. "We are not looking past any of these opponents. We know that we will have to beat the best of the competition to make it to the top of the podium."

Japan coach Tom Hovasse accepts that his team will be the underdogs against the USA and will probably be viewed as such against France, too.

He is not looking ahead with a sense of unease, anxiety or fear, even with the uncertainty surrounding star center Ramu Tokashiki and point guard Nako Motohashi, with both players battling back from serious injuries.

"I love the underdog challenge," he said. 

"I tell my team, 'I don’t care if it's USA, Australia or what the name is on the front of the jersey. We're going after it. We're going to win.'"

Hovasse and Japan face an enormous challenges in Group B against the USA, France and Nigeria

Purely on ranking,  No. 10 Japan are underdogs with eight of the other 11 teams at the Olympics higher.  Nigeria at No. 14 are the only team in the Group B with a lower ranking.

Yet Hovasse watched a video replay of Nigeria throwing a scare into the USA at the OQT in Belgrade.

"Nigeria was up 16 points at half-time," he said. "USA led for the first time with like three minutes in the game. Nigeria's going to be difficult, they're very physical. France is going to be tough and the USA is the USA - it's a tough group."

"THIS OPALS PLAYING GROUP ARE GOING TO TOKYO WANTING TO WIN AUSTRALIA'S FIRST EVER WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GOLD MEDAL AT AN OLYMPIC GAMES AND WE HAVE THE TALENT TO DO IT."- Australia coach Sandy Brondello

The tournament will be staged July 26 to August 8, which means the teams from Europe, like France, are having a 2021 summer that's going to be busier than previously expected. The FIBA Women's EuroBasket was already slated for this year and will be staged before the Olympics, from June 17 to June 27.

The competition system is different, with three groups instead of two like at previous Olympics, and less games in the Group Phase.

"Between the preparation games and the EuroBasket, which will precede the Games, the fact of having a shortened format can be favorable to us," France coach Valier Garnier said. "With the order of the games, the first against Japan will be decisive (to advance)."

In Group C, Australia are with Belgium, China and Puerto Rico.

The sublime yet powerful game of Belgium sensation Emma Meesseman will be on show in Group C

"It's certainly good to know who we are playing in the preliminary round and from a coaching point of view, we can gather information and start scouting those teams," said Australia coach Sandy Brondello. "However, our primary focus is on ourselves and being the best we can be, leaving no stone unturned in our preparation and peaking at the right time."

Australia, before losing in the Quarter-Finals to Serbia at the Rio Olympics, had reached the podium at five consecutive Olympics, dating back to 1996. Brondello, who led the Opals to the Final of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Spain three years ago, is thinking big.

"This Opals playing group are going to Tokyo wanting to win Australia's first ever women's basketball gold medal at an Olympic Games and we have the talent to do it," she said. "We know our effort and execution needs to match our ambition and we look forward to making Australia proud in Tokyo."

Belgium are playing at the Olympics for the first time.

"IF YOU LOOK AT GROUP B, IT QUICKLY BECOMES CLEAR THAT IT IS THE 'GROUP OF DEATH', WITH HOST COUNTRY JAPAN AND NIGERIA, THE STRONGEST COUNTRY FROM THE FOURTH POT."- Belgium point guard Julie Allemand

"They are balanced groups and our group does offer some opportunities," said Belgium center Emma Meesseman. "Australia is the favorite, but we have to go for the win against them, too. China and Puerto Rico seem feasible on paper and we should indeed aim for qualifying for the Quarter-Finals. However, it is still more than five months before the Olympics start and a lot can still happen. Which players are fit and what the form is. Our ambition? We look at it game by game, but reaching the Quarter-Finals is the first goal."

Belgium point guard Julie Allemand is optimistic. "Our draw isn't the worst, we can be satisfied.

"If you look at Group B, it quickly becomes clear that it is the 'group of death', with host country Japan and Nigeria, the strongest country from the fourth pot.

"Group A (with Spain, Serbia, Canada and Korea) Also looked very interesting to us, but we are certainly not dissatisfied. Australia naturally has many qualities and we know Puerto Rico. We have to immediately pursue those two opponents, and then deal professionally with the game against China."

Puerto Rico's women are ranked No. 22 and excited to be headed to Tokyo.

"At this level you have to face the best in the world," Puerto Rican Basketball Federation president Yum Ramo said. "We got No. 2 Australia and No. 6  Belgium. But here we go."

In Group A, world No. 2 Spain, No. 4 Canada and No. 8 Serbia are joined by No. 19 Korea.

Spain coach Lucas Mondelo said: "I am happy with the draw because they are teams that we know and that gives us an advantage, but do not confuse my happiness with it (the task) being easy. There are no easy groups at the Games."

World No. 4 Canada are a force to be reckoned with after after winning the OQT in Belgium last year

Lisa Thomaidis is preparing to coach world No. 4 Canada at the Olympics for the second straight time. She led the team to the Quarter-Finals at the Rio de Janeiro Games and the World Cup, and to three wins in as many games at the OQT in Belgium.

"We've been waiting for a year to see what the draw will look like in Tokyo, so we're excited to finally know our pathway," she said. "With 12 of the best teams in the world in Tokyo, every game is going to be a grind. 

"There is a lot of work still to be done, but knowing our draw brings an added sense of excitement to our preparation."

Serbia coach Marina Majkovic says every opponent presents challenges.

"We all know Spain well,  a team that we haven't beaten for years," she said. "We definitely have a huge desire for Serbia to finally defeat Spain one day, which is very difficult. Canada is a physically extremely dominant team that plays the best defense in the world when it comes to women's basketball.

"They are extremely strong physically and practically perfect, solid and rough on defense. We lost to them in Rio at the last Games for these very reasons."

Having coached in China, and more recently Japan, Maljkovic also appreciates the challenge of taking on the Koreans.

"Korea is a classic representative of Asian basketball," she said, "which is adorned with high speed. We who work in Asia know what it's about. That basketball is 20 or 30 percent faster than European basketball, and with that speed, they also have great precision." 

FIBA