MIES (Switzerland) - As soon as the draw for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 was completed it was clear that Group D was the Group of Death with United States, Australia as well as France and Cameroon. But USA will be hungry to show their dominance right from the start.
The record eight-time winners USA hope to lay the foundation for title number nine while Australia haven't reached the podium since winning the whole thing in 2003. France have taken home hardware the last three editions - including reaching the Final the last two tournaments. And Cameroon will be hungry looking to show they belong on the global stage.
The Favorite: USA
USA Basketball always have trouble with the FIBA U19 World Cup in terms of players being unavailable and the USA coaches this time took a record seven players who won the crown at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. AJ Dybantsa, Koa Peat, Tyran Stokes and co. dominated the field in Istanbul last summer and are ready to make it back-to-back titles.
As if the talent is not enough, the USA team will also have the extra motivation of not coming into the tournament as reigning champions. The Americans crashed to fourth place in 2023, failing to take home a medal for the first time since 2011.
The Underdog: Cameroon
It's really impossible not to pick Cameroon in this spot but at the same time, it is actually hard to predict how this team will play. While other teams in the FIBA U19 World Cup might be missing a key player here or there but will most likely play the same as usual, this Cameroon will have an entirely different look when they arrive in Lausanne compared to the team that finished second at FIBA U18 AfroBasket 2024 to lock up their spot on the global stage.
Amadou Seini will still be a rock in the center of the paint for the central Africans but head coach Steve Tchiengang - an assistant with the Boston Celtics - will have a different team around him as the staff scouted the world looking for talent with Cameroonian roots. Australia, France and USA are best warned to not sleep on the likes of Ronny Ewanke, Jordy Ndjomo and Noe Bom.
The Pivotal Game: Australia v France
Regardless if USA win the group in undefeated fashion or not, the Australia v France game will be a meaningful battle. If one of the two teams knock off the Americans in the first two days - Australia open the tournament against USA, who then play France on Day 2 - then the winner of this game could go through as undefeated group winner. Or the result could create a three-way tie of teams with a 2-1 record with Cameroon in that case 0-3.
The Australia v France game - which is only the second matchup between the teams following Australia's win in the 2009 Quarter-Finals - could also be very important looking ahead to the knockout stage. Not only will the teams be looking to go into the Round of 16 on a high note, but it also impacts when the teams could meet later. The Group D winner could not face the second-placed team in the group until the Final while the third-placed finisher could meet the Group D winner in the Semi-Finals.
More
Looking for more about the teams in Group A, don't forget to check the pieces introducing the 16 participating nations as well as Parts 1 and 2 on why each team can win the tournament.
FIBA