Who are the favorites in each group?

MUNICH (Germany) - The FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers will be tipping of shortly with 32 national teams all eyeing a spot in Europe's flagship basketball event, which will take place in Cyprus, Finland, Poland and Latvia.

The Qualifiers will take place across three windows in February 2024, November 2024 and February 2025 to complete the 24-team Final Round field, which already includes the four automatically qualified hosts. 

Who are the favorites for the remaining tickets and who will have to beat the odds to secure their berths?

In the lead-up to the Qualifiers, we will be breaking down and previewing each of the eight groups one by one.

Group A: Israel, Portugal, Slovenia, Ukraine
Group B: Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Turkiye
Group C: Belgium, Latvia, Slovakia, Spain
Group D: Bulgaria, Germany, Montenegro, Sweden
Group E: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, France
Group F: Czechia, Great Britain, Greece, Netherlands
Group G: Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Serbia
Group H: Estonia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland

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The FIBA EuroBasket 2017 champions Slovenia will be the hunted team in this group but Israel cannot be underestimated when you consider the success the country has had at the youth levels and those players are slowly taking leadership roles in the senior national team. Not to mention that Israel and Slovenia split their games in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers. Ukraine are always competitive and have not missed a EuroBasket since 2009, with Portugal entering the race on the outside lane in Group A.

Team to beat: Slovenia
The underdogs: Portugal

Player to watch: Klemen Prepelic (SLO)
Key game in Window 1: Slovenia vs Israel | Sunday, February 25

The question: Will top-ranked Slovenia be able to secure first place in Group A?

Fun fact: The last time Portugal qualified for the EuroBasket was in 2011 in Lithuania, when they went through the Additional Qualifying Round to secure their Final Round spot.

Best finish in 2022: Slovenia - 6th place

FIBA World Ranking, presented by NIKE

WORLD RANK	COUNTRY	EUROPE RANK	CURRENT POINTS
11.	Slovenia	7.	700.8
35.	Ukraine	17.	363.6
42.	Israel	20.	311.7
54.	Portugal	28.	202.7

Italy ended a 25-year drought of reaching the FIBA Basketball World Cup Quarter-Finals last summer - a result that came after upsetting Serbia at the EuroBasket 2022. Turkiye will look to bounce back after failing to qualify for the World Cup and Iceland hope to build upon the momentum of just missing out on their first World Cup. Hungary meanwhile have reached the last two EuroBaskets.

Team to beat: Italy
The underdogs: Iceland

Player to watch: Nicolo Melli (ITA)
Key game in Window 1: Iceland vs Hungary | Thursday, February 22

The question: Who will win the battle of coaches between Ergin Ataman and Gianmarco Pozzecco?

Fun fact: Iceland, with a population of just over 300,000 people, is the smallest nation to ever play at the EuroBasket. They qualified for the event on two separate occasions in 2015 and 2017.

Best finish in 2022: Italy - 8th place

FIBA World Ranking, presented by NIKE

WORLD RANK	COUNTRY	ZONE RANK	CURRENT POINTS
13.	Italy	8.	653.9
24.	Türkiye	15.	445.8
43.	Hungary	21.	307.3
48.	Iceland	24.	249.3

The reigning champions Spain and already qualified 2025 co-hosts Latvia will certainly give fans two fun games, but the main question in this group is likely to be who will join those two in the continental event? Belgium, Slovakia and Latvia were all together in a FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers group with Belgium narrowly losing twice to Latvia but beating Slovakia by 26 and 43 points in November 2021 and June 2022, respectively. With the evidence above, it looks like Slovakia might be in for a tough ride. Or can they turn the tide around?

Already qualified: Latvia

Team to beat: Spain
The underdogs: Slovakia

Player to watch: Ricky Rubio (ESP)
Key game in Window 1: Slovakia vs Belgium | Thursday, February 22

The question: Will Spain exact revenge on Latvia for the defeat in Jakarta at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023?

Fun fact: Belgium were the only team to beat Spain during La Roja's title-winning run at FIBA EuroBasket 2022, and they have not failed to qualify since missing out on the Final Round at the 2009 edition.

Best finish in 2022: Spain - Champions

FIBA World Ranking, presented by NIKE

WORLD RANK	COUNTRY	ZONE RANK	CURRENT POINTS
2.	Spain	1.	778.2
8.	Latvia	4.	743.7
39.	Belgium	18.	334.0
60.	Slovakia	31.	185.6

FIBA Basketball World Cup champions Germany go into the group as heavy favorites and everything that goes along with being the hunted. Still, Montenegro twice beat co-hosts Germany in the EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers but then lost to the Germans in the Round of 16. Bulgaria, for their part, ended an 11-year EuroBasket drought in 2022 and hope to keep Sweden out again - the Scandinavians' last appearance came in 2013.

Team to beat: Germany
The underdogs: Bulgaria

Player to watch: Cody Miller-McIntyre (BUL)
Key game in Window 1: Sweden vs Bulgaria | Thursday, February 22

The question: Can Bulgaria achieve back-to-back qualifications for the first time in over a decade?

Fun fact: The last time Sweden qualified for FIBA EuroBasket was at the 2013 edition when they finished second in a group that also included Germany and Bulgaria. Jonas Jerebko averaged 20.3 points per game for the Swedes as they edged a three-team tiebreaker with Bulgaria and Azerbaijan.

Best finish in 2022: Germany - 3rd place

FIBA World Ranking, presented by NIKE

WORLD RANK	COUNTRY	ZONE RANK	CURRENT POINTS
3.	Germany	2.	759.7
17.	Montenegro	11.	606.2
45.	Bulgaria	23.	270.8
49.	Sweden	25.	247.5

France and Bosnia and Herzegovina will renew their recent rivalry - which included the Balkan side winning in double overtime at home in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers. This will be an embattled group as 2025 co-hosts Cyprus will advance automatically. Croatia will be out to right the wrong of having to go through the Pre-Qualifiers to get to this stage.

Already qualified: Cyprus

Team to beat: France
The underdogs: Cyprus

Player to watch: Dzanan Musa (BIH)
Key game in Window 1: France vs Croatia | Friday, February 23

The question: With Cyprus qualified automatically as hosts, which of the three remaining countries face a Qualifiers exit?

Fun fact: Croatia have never failed to qualify for the Final Round since their independence in 1991, though they have not been on the podium since consecutive third-place finishes in 1993 and 1995. They started their FIBA EuroBasket 2025 campaign in the Second Round of the Pre-Qualifiers.

Best finish in 2022: France - Runners-up

FIBA World Ranking, presented by NIKE

WORLD RANK	COUNTRY	ZONE RANK	CURRENT POINTS
9.	France	5.	736.3
30.	Croatia	16.	420.2
40.	Bosnia and Herzegovina	19.	325.6
88.	Cyprus	40.	109.9

Greece will be reminded that they lost to Great Britain in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers. And also that Czechia will be out for revenge after losing to the Greeks in the Round of 16 stage at EuroBasket 2022. Netherlands for their part nearly came back from 23 points down before losing to Czechia at the same tournament.

Team to beat: Greece
The underdogs: Great Britain/Netherlands

Player to watch: Tomas Satoransky (CZE)
Key game in Window 1: Great Britain vs Netherlands | Friday, February 23

The question: Will the Vassilis Spanoulis era in charge of Greece result in a return to the top ahead of the 20-year anniversary of their last EuroBasket title?

Fun fact: Greece and Great Britain played each other during the FIBA Basketball World Cup European Qualifiers for the 2019 and 2023 editions, as well as meeting at FIBA EuroBasket 2022, and now clash in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers. Greece won four of the five encounters.

Best finish in 2022: Greece - 5th place

FIBA World Ranking, presented by NIKE

WORLD RANK	COUNTRY	ZONE RANK	CURRENT POINTS
14.	Greece	9.	641.3
19.	Czechia	12.	561.1
52.	Netherlands	26.	235.8
53.	Great Britain	27.	233.8

Georgia and Serbia split their two games in the EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers with the Georgians also beating Finland once in the same group. Serbia took both games against the Finns, who will advance to the continental showcase as co-hosts. Denmark face an uphill battle of reaching the EuroBasket for the first time since 1955.

Already qualified: Finland

Team to beat: Serbia
The underdogs: Denmark

Player to watch: Iffe Lundberg (DEN)
Key game in Window 1: Denmark vs Georgia | Friday, February 23

The question: Will the Iffe Lundberg-Shavon Shields duo be able to lead Denmark to their first EuroBasket tournament since 1955?

Fun fact: Tornike Shengelia and Iffe Lundberg are teammates in Italy, both playing their basketball with Virtus Bologna. They will square off in the all-important Group G opener on Friday.

Best finish in 2022: Finland - 7th place

FIBA World Ranking, presented by NIKE

WORLD RANK	COUNTRY	ZONE RANK	CURRENT POINTS
5.	Serbia	3.	755.6
20.	Finland	13.	542.5
23.	Georgia	14.	465.9
58.	Denmark	29.	196.2

Lithuania enter the group as prohibitive favorites while Poland will move on through the group as 2025 co-hosts. Estonia and Poland split their games at the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, while Estonia and North Macedonia both won road games facing off in the EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers

Already qualified: Poland

Team to beat: Lithuania
The underdogs: North Macedonia

Player to watch: Rokas Giedraitis (LTU)
Key game in Window 1: North Macedonia vs Estonia | Friday, February 23

The question: Can North Macedonia become the latest team to complete the qualification process from the Pre-Qualifiers to the Final Round?

Fun fact: Lithuania playcaller Kazys Maksvytis coached  national team stars Rokas Giedraitis, Edgaras Ulanovas all the way from the junior level. The 1992-born generation ended up winning every single youth even they played.

Best finish in 2022: Poland - 4th place

FIBA World Ranking, presented by NIKE

WORLD RANK	COUNTRY	ZONE RANK	CURRENT POINTS
10.	Lithuania	6.	715.5
15.	Poland	10.	619.8
44.	Estonia	22.	274.4
59.	North Macedonia	30.	187.4

FIBA