MIES (Switzerland) - There are always favorites in international basketball yet upsets do happen.
The latest window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Qualifiers delivered some surprising results.
Here’s a look at them, ranked by differential in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by NIKE, based on the pre-Window 2 rankings.
# | Winning Team | Losing Team | Result | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Iceland (No. 45) | Lithuania (No. 9) | -36 | |
2 | Mali (No. 67) | Angola (No. 32) | -35 | |
- | Uruguay (No. 43) | Argentina (No. 8) | -35 | |
4 | Croatia (No. 34) | Germany (No. 2) | -32 | |
5 | Mali (No. 67) | Egypt (No. 44) | -23 | |
6 | Dominican Republic (No. 21) | USA (No. 1) | -22 | |
7 | Jordan (No. 38) | Iran (No. 26) | -12 | |
- | Chinese Taipei (No. 68) | Korea (No. 56) | -12 | |
9 | China (No. 27) | Japan (No. 22) | -5 |
Iceland (#45) 86-85 Lithuania (#9)
Ice Man brings Iceland back from the depths: Iceland stormed back from 21 points down for a dramatic 86-85 win. The side affectionally known as "Strákarnir okkar" (Our Boys) needed the late-game brilliance of Elvar Fridriksson, who scored all 8 of the team's points in the final 1:13, including a baseline jumper, to seal the win.
Ice Man ended up with 34 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Marek Blazevic led Lithuania with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Mali (#67) 80-79 Angola (#32)
Mali claim second upset of window: Talk about having the perfect international break, Mali won for the third time to go top of Group D in the African Qualifiers by knocking off the team that walloped them 70-43 in last year's AfroBasket Final.
Siriman Kanoute's daring drive, spin and then shot in the lane Childe Dundao gave Mali a 80-79 lead with nine seconds remaining and they held on.
Uruguay (#43) 61-44 Argentina (#8)
Uruguay spoiled the party in Buenos Aires. Argentina are not the force they once were, having gone from a second-place finish at the 2019 World Cup to missing the event four years later. Even so, to lose against a Uruguay team 35 rungs lower on the ranking ladder, in Buenos Aires?
An Uruguay national team program that hasn't played at the World Cup since 1982, and by 17 points?!
Uruguay didn't look like a polished offensive machine in this game, shooting 31.8% (13 of 37) from the floor, and they were just 11 of 19 (57.9%) at the free-throw line. Yet it was more than enough to beat an Argentina team that scored just 44 points - their lowest ever points total in the Americas Qualifiers for the World Cup.
Croatia (#34) 93-88 Germany (#2)
Croatia with a statement win: Croatia held on for a 93-88 victory over Germany that was more than just a triumph over the defending world and EuroBasket champions. It was a statement that they have returned to the global stage, having missed out on qualifying for last summer's FIBA EuroBasket and the previous two World Cups.
In a game that had 17 lead changes, Croatia had the edge in the second half and produced a decisive run down the stretch to score the win. Dario Saric led the way for Croatia with 23 points, with David Kramer pacing Germany with 22 points and 8 rebounds.
Mali (#67) 86-77 Egypt (#44)
"The Eagles" fly past “The Pharaohs": Unlike Egypt, who played at the World Cup in 2023, Mali have never made it to the big dance. Yet with their appearance in the AfroBasket 2025 Final and after three wins in the African Qualifiers this time, a World Cup berth is there for the taking.
No one that watched this contest would have thought it was an upset because Mali led for 37:36 in the game, and had a double digit advantage for most of the second half.
On second thought, the leaders in this game for Mali, Siriman Kanoute and Oumar Ballo, reminded us that the country did appear in a World Cup. These same two players were stars in the Mali side that finished runners-up to USA at the 2019 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup. They are coming of age.
Dominican Republic (#21) 87-79 USA (#1)
“Los Quisqueyanos" down the Americans. Anytime USA goes down, it's big news. But the Dominican Republic's eight-point win was an even bigger surprise considering the most successful program in the history of international basketball was at home in their Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.
Maybe the biggest shock in this contest was the Dominican rebounding. They had 45 boards to USA's 27, which helped them score 17 second-chance points. And the visitors, who went in front by 19 at one stage and never trailed, also got out and ran.
Jordan (#38) 73-60 Iran (#26)
Freddie was ready and so were Jordan: Based on the teams' performances at last year's FIBA Asia Cup, where the Falcons won just once in four games while Iran reached the podium, this looked like a straightforward win for "Team Melli". Especially as Iran had 10 of their 12 players from last summer.
Yet Iran showed up in Lebanon for the games looking like a shadow of themselves. And with Ahmad Al Dwairi, one of the best bigs in Asia, back in the Jordan lineup after missing Jeddah, and with new explosive scorer Jalen Harris, Roy Rana's group was a different beast.
It was the team's point guard, however, Freddie Ibrahim, whom Rana spoke about after the game, as a way of explaining how Jordan were able to beat a great national side.
"Freddie led the team in rebounds and I think that says a lot about how hard our guys are playing, how much they're competing, how much they're playing for each other."
Chinese Taipei (#68) 77-65 Korea (#56)
Chinese Taipei surprise “Taeguk Warriors”: None of what transpired in the first window suggested a Chinese Taipei victory over Korea was remotely possible. The Koreans had enjoyed arguably their best two-game winning run in the history of the Asian Qualifiers with away and home triumphs over China, and looked like world beaters.
However, Chinese Taipei, drilled twice by Japan in that opening window, got an emotional charge from their crowd in the Xinzhuang Gymnasium and stunned the men from Seoul. Brandon Gilbeck (or Gil-block if you prefer since he had 3 swats) finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds. The hosts took the lead midway through the first quarter and stayed in front the rest of the way, going in front by as many as 20 points.
China (#27) 87-80 Japan (#22)
Team Dragon rises from the ashes against Japan: It wasn't looking promising for China in their bid to return to the World Cup. Losing both games in the opening window to Korea and then falling behind by 15 points in Okinawa against Japan threatened to derail their chances, yet they hit back for a vital victory with a multiple players making timely contributions.
Gao Shiyan leveled the scores at 49-49 with a pull-up 3-ball midway through the third quarter and Zhao Jiwei then drilled another for their first lead since the opening minutes. China had the lead the rest of the way. As upsets go, maybe this isn't a huge one.
China had in this game the bulk of the team that came within a whisker of beating Australia in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Final in this Asian Qualifier window. That included the uber-talented and emotional veteran point guard, Zhao Rui.
FIBA