MUNICH (Germany) - The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers are done with Window 2, with all 32 teams now having four games behind them.
The First Round of the Qualifiers concludes in July 2026, while the Second Round starts immediately after, in August, followed by another couple of windows in November 2026 and February/March 2027.
We will be monitoring each country's progress in our Power Rankings before and after each window.
#1 Türkiye (=)
Record: 4-0 Schedule in July: @ BIH, vs. Switzerland
Well, we warned you about how good they are, about how we wanted to put them +1 even at #1 because they are even better than the last time, and the two games against Serbia just proved that point.
Cedi Osman was awesome, Omer Yurtseven was a mountain down low, Onuralp Bitim's dunk set the rhythm, Sehmus Hazer was hazardous for opponents and Tarik Biberovic gave them that extra bit of spice.
A monster of a team, clear leader, and it would take a miracle for them not to be at #1 when we talk again in July.
#2 Poland (+4)
Record: 4-0 Schedule in July: @ Austria, vs. Netherlands
It's the year of the FIFA World Cup, so let's do the best parallel parking possible and tell you that Jordan Loyd is turning into prime Guillermo Ochoa. You know, the kind of guy who just goes crazy when he puts on the national team jersey.
Similar to FIBA Patty Mills, FIBA Evan Fournier, or even FIBA Mateusz Ponitka. But just crazier. With buzzer-beaters included, of course. Poland up at 4-0, with plenty of potential to finish 6-0!
#3 Spain (+2)
Record: 4-0 Schedule in July: vs. Denmark, @ Georgia
Ah yes, the ancient old rule of the Power Rankings is back - no matter what you do, always include Spain among the podium places.
They swept back-to-back windows, and it would be a shocker to see them at any other record than 6-0 when we meet again in July. It's just the culture now, a continuation of a process, and it's safe to say that Chus Mateo did a fine job so far.
Spain did not miss a single World Cup event since 1978. Doesn't seem like they'll miss one in 2027, either.
#4 Germany (-1)
Record: 3-1 Schedule in July: @ Israel, vs. Cyprus
Boy, we were ready to push Germany down to double digits here when we saw Croatia opened up a double digit lead in Bonn... Hey, no need to do that, the reigning champs had a monster comeback and won the game in overtime, staying above .500 with a 3-1 record and two chances to go 5-1 at the end of the First Round.
Nice to see David Kramer in fine form again, always a joy to see him rise up for those sky high jumpshots, 22 points and 8 rebounds in Zagreb, 10 points with a game-tying triple in Bonn.
#5 Greece (-3)
Record: 3-1 Schedule in July: @ Romania, vs. Portugal
You always see the stories of heroes when they make the game-winning shots and all those feel-good highlights. But you can best judge a player at how he responds when he misses a clutch shot.
Enter stage, Vasileios Toliopoulos. Baller. Legend. Your favorite player to watch when he's on a hot night, you know it. His response to missing a game-tying layup against Montenegro in Athens?
A bunch of career-highs in game two in Podgorica.
#6 France (+2)
Record: 3-1 Schedule in July: @ Belgium, vs. Finland
We told you, you should keep an eye on Sylvain Francisco in this window. We were correct.
From hitting the shot to win the Lithuanian championship last season, to winning a bunch of Regular Season games with Zalgiris, all the way to making a difference for the national team, too. Game-winners are just a habit.
#7 Croatia (=)
Record: 3-1 Schedule in July: @ Cyprus, vs. Israel
We were *this* close to putting Croatia top of the Power Rankings, for real! Imagine if they held on to that double digit lead in Germany, or if Mario Hezonja made the halfcourt shot for the win, we'd be talking about a 4-0 team here.
Instead, we're talking about a 3-1 team, but no, we're not gonna start daydreaming about having Croatia back at the World Cup for the first time since 2014. We're not. We're gonna daydream about Dario Saric returning to Europe.
#8 Serbia (-4)
Record: 2-2 Schedule in July: @ Switzerland, vs. BIH
No need to panic. Still all in your hands. We still have so much faith in coach Dusan Alimpijevic and his crew that even with two straight defeats, even at 2-2, we are keeping them above three teams with 3-1 records.
Why? Because these aren't the Rankings. They are the Power Rankings. And when it comes to power, yep, they have plenty of power on their roster. Solid minutes by their two youngest guys, Stefan Miljenovic and Bogoljub Markovic could be the one-two punch in future decades, for sure.
#9 Italy (+2)
Record: 3-1 Schedule in July: @ Iceland, vs. Lithuania
If there was a most improved player award in Europe, Saliou Niang would've gotten it like three times, at least. Because he's still growing, he's still not done, and he's already a leader and a guy that makes you want to buy tickets for Italy games. Smooth sailing in this window for Italy, setting up a firecracker of a duel on Gameday 6, when they take on Lithuania.
#10 Finland (+4)
Record: 3-1 Schedule in July: vs. Hungary, @ France
Best player nobody talks about: Olivier Nkamhoua. The lucky few who watched him with the Niners Chemnitz in 2024-25 can tell you all about it, and his move to Pallacanestro Varese over the summer seems to be a smart one, since he is #7 in scoring, #8 in blocks, #12 in rebounding, and #13 in efficiency rating in the Italian league.
February has especially been hot for Olivier, check this out: 15 points at Trento, 21 against Brescia, 23 with 12 rebounds against Belgium and 23 again against Belgium.
Best player nobody talks about.
#11 Lithuania (-1)
Record: 2-2 Schedule in July: vs. Great Britain, @ Italy
While you have every right to be mad about being #11, because you were technically two points away from being 4-0, and probably deserved a top five spot or arguably even #2, here's why we dropped you out of the Top 10.
At 2-2, Lithuania still have solid chances of making the Second Round. However, they've got a road trip to Italy coming up in July, and then they would join the group with Türkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina and most likely Serbia. You don't want to get there at 3-3. Stay focused in July.
#12 Slovenia (+5)
Record: 3-1 Schedule in July: @ Estonia, vs. Sweden
Seriously, man. What are they feeding these kids in Slovenia!?
That's 20-year-old Zak Smrekar. They also got 17-year-old Stefan Joksimovic. Urban Kroflic is still 19. Mark Padjen just turned 20 a month ago. The best transitions between generations are the ones that you hardly even feel, and Slovenia climb five spots not just because they picked up a pair of wins, but also because we can't wait to see the progress these kids made in four months' time.
#13 Montenegro (+6)
Record: 2-2 Schedule in July: @ Portugal, vs. Romania
Okay, okay, they couldn't complete the sweep over Greece, but still, they stole one in Athens, which had never happened before.
That's why they climb six spots here, and if they win the next game in Portugal, there's plenty of potential to go 4-2 the rest of the way. Also, not the first time they beat Greece, keep that in mind.
#14 Iceland (+6)
Record: 2-2 Schedule in July: vs. Italy, @ Great Britain
It feels like Iceland went 50 percent in all their windows, ever. They are like the Atlanta Hawks of the windows, no matter what happens, they always end up even-steven. There's a whole Seinfeld episode on that concept, trust us.
Anyway, in this window, they have it confirmed, they pulled off the biggest upset of all, taking down Lithuania at the buzzer. The difference in FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by NIKE between the two nations was 36 spots.
#15 Israel (+9)
Record: 2-2 Schedule in July: vs. Germany, @ Croatia
Okay, off the mark, potential upsets against Cyprus avoided, but the real thing starts in July for Israel. They need to pick up at least one win over Germany or Croatia, otherwise their Second Round campaign will be an uphill battle. If those two end up at 5-1, and you're at 2-4 without any tiebreakers... Let's not go there, enjoy the +9 from the brackets for now.
#16 Bosnia and Herzegovina (+7)
Record: 2-2 Schedule in July: vs. Türkiye, @ Serbia
Job done. BIH knew they had to sweep Switzerland to have any chance of reaching their first World Cup, and they played a pair of stressless games back and forth. Now, it's time to try and hurt the big names, because they weren't that far from upsetting both Türkiye and Serbia the first time they faced each other in the Qualifiers.
Oh, and as long as this guy keeps showing up, they've got a good chance to actually pull it off.
#17 Hungary (-5)
Record: 2-2 Schedule in July: @ Finland, vs. Belgium
Well, they were one stop away from defeating France, guaranteeing at least a three-win finish ahead of the Second Round, thinking about group arrangements from Budapest to Qatar in 2027, and a Top 10 spot in the Power Rankings.
Instead, Sylvain Francisco happened. And not only are we not talking about Hungary being a Top 10 team, we're kinda worried because it could all come down to their last Gameday and the matchup with Belgium to even reach the Second Round.
#18 Ukraine (-9)
Record: 2-2 Schedule in July: vs. Georgia, @ Denmark
No need to panic, no shame in losing two games to Spain. However, we don't deal with shame or no shame, we deal with results and projections, so we had to push you down to #18 here.
One good thing, though. The next game is against Georgia, a win there wouldn't be just a win, it would actually put Ukraine two wins up on a direct Second Round rival, since they already won the road game against Georgia in Window 1. So yeah, we always knew Window 1 and Window 3 would determine their fate.
#19 Czechia (-6)
Record: 2-2 Schedule in July: @ Sweden, vs. Estonia
It's impossible to read this team. Any time you assume they are good to go, and they could be a contender for bigger things, they go ice cold. Now, since we pushed them to #19 here, you can expect them to sweep Window 3 and reach the Second Round at 4-2, with all the wind in their sails, cruising towards Qatar.
Impossible to read this team, we tell you. The kind that goes -40 against Slovenia, then +19 two days later, only to lose the game at the buzzer.
#20 Estonia (-2)
Record: 2-2 Schedule in July: vs. Slovenia, @ Czechia
Speaking of teams impossible to read... We thought we would have to rearrange the whole Top 10 when we saw Estonia storm through Sweden with a road win.
Then, they lost at home to Sweden, so we're rearranging the Top 20. We always said losing at home was a no-no in this format, but Estonia lose only a pair of places because they still protected the head-to-head lead over Sweden, by a single point.
#21 Netherlands (-5)
Record: 2-2 Schedule in July: vs. Latvia, @ Poland
Our graphics designers are mad at you, Netherlands, because they worked hard on Netherlands Qualified graphics, and then you went on to lose to Austria and we had to send it straight to the Recycle Bin.
You lose five spots because of the hard work our team put in the most beautiful graphic you've ever seen, but you'll never know how beautiful it was because you lost, and no, it won't be the same in July, they'll have to create a new one, and you know it's not going to be a nice one because designers are artists and never ask an artists to do the same work of art twice, it's a rule, for sure, look it up.
#22 Latvia (-1)
Record: 1-3 Schedule in July: @ Netherlands, vs. Austria
#23 Georgia (+5)
Record: 2-2 Schedule in July: @ Ukraine, vs. Spain
Okay, they are through to the Second Round and they are looking good. But they still have Ukraine and Spain coming up, so there are still question marks about their record at the end of the First Round.
You know what has zero question marks? Toko Shengelia's MVP potential. Another big window for him, cementing his status as one of the most beloved players in all of Europe, you can't hate on Shengelia when he's playing for Georgia.
#24 Great Britain (-2)
Record: 1-3 Schedule in July: @ Lithuania, vs. Iceland
On one hand, not all is lost. Nobody is qualified in that group yet. On the other hand, you have to beat Lithuania in Lithuania and Iceland at home, and not even that guarantees you are through to the Second Round, because there could be a four-way tie at 3-3, if Italy lose both games, and you win both games.
Don't think we ever had a four-way tie at 3-3 in this competition. Make it happen, come on!
#25 Portugal (-10)
Record: 2-2 Schedule in July: vs. Montenegro, @ Greece
You're probably wondering what's a 2-2 team doing losing 10 spots, but look at their remaining schedule. That defeat to Romania could prove costly later in the competition, and that's just bad.
Oh well, at least one positive piece of news: Diogo Brito joined the record books.
#26 Sweden (=)
Record: 1-3 Schedule in July: vs. Czechia, @ Slovenia
It's not a disaster, but it's not far from being a disaster, either. Unless they go 2-0 in the final window, this could be the end of the road for Sweden, a rude awakening from a dream they had when they played the Round of 16 at FIBA EuroBasket 2025. That home game against Czechia seems to be the crucial one now, because you don't expect a team that's 0-3 at home to advance, right? Right.
#27 Austria (+3)
Record: 1-3 Schedule in July: vs. Poland, @ Latvia
Good news? Awesome win against the Netherlands, that's one for the history books because it's so, so good to see the nation competitive at this level.
Bad news? You are still just 1-3, and you've got Poland and Latvia coming up in July. Actually, just consider those as opportunities to make history, take your mind off of the results and enjoy the moment. These games will pay dividends in the future, for sure.
#28 Romania (+3)
Record: 1-3 Schedule in July: vs. Greece, @ Montenegro
Romania were treated to a prime Daron Russell experience in this window. Sometimes, the shots just aren't falling, and he's struggling and he's 2-of-10 and you're thinking this is bad. Then, a couple of sleeps later, the same guy goes 7-of-11 from deep, scores 29 points, hits the game-winning three-pointer and earns you your first win of the campaign.
Daron is like that, he'll find a response immediately. That's why they love him so much over there in Romania.
#29 Belgium (-2)
Record: 0-4 Schedule in July: vs. France, @ Hungary
Let's just call them the unluckiest team of the Qualifiers, okay?
When you exclude their 16-point defeat to France to start things off on Gameday 1, they lost the next three games by a combined 10 points. Yep. Ten. Now they need to beat Hungary by 3+ points, or complete the window sweep by also beating France, and even that could be insufficient to reach the Second Round.
Unlucky, that's all.
#30 Denmark (-5)
Record: 0-4 Schedule in July: @ Spain, vs. Ukraine
The first set point was wasted, as they could not do anything to stay attached to Georgia in a pair of games, meaning they cannot catch them anymore. So now they switch their focus to Ukraine, because Spain and Georgia are already through.
Which means Denmark need a road win over Spain, and a +18 win over Ukraine, while also needing Ukraine to lose to Georgia, and only that combination of results would push Denmark to the Second Round. Stranger things have happened...
#31 Switzerland (-2)
Record: 0-4 Schedule in July: vs. Serbia, @ Türkiye
They knew from the moment the draw started that they were in for an uphill battle, and their chance was in Window 2, the doubleheader with Bosnia and Herzegovina. But it turned out BIH took care of business easier than Türkiye and Serbia, so now we're talking about Switzerland needing wins over Serbia and Türkiye to have a chance of reaching the Second Round. Yep. Exactly as it sounds, impossible...
#32 Cyprus (=)
Record: 0-4 Schedule in July: vs. Croatia, @ Germany
The first officially eliminated nation of the Qualifiers, Cyprus were no match for Israel across two games, and with Croatia and Germany already at three wins, it means that even with two wins in July, Cyprus would have been eliminated.
Call it a learning experience. We've said it a million times here, these matchups along with those at EuroBasket 2025 will show their true value in years to come.
But nope, not today.
Note: The Power Rankings are entirely subjective and is in no way a true, accurate ranking system. All comments are purely those of the author.