LAUSANNE (Switzerland) - United States and Germany - the much-anticipated matchup in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 Final - will be a showdown of two teams who only know one thing ... winning. One of them will complete their mission.
USA's generation of 2006 and 2007 born players have never lost a FIBA youth game and are looking for redemption for the country after USA left the 2023 edition empty-handed, not even making the podium.
United States are still record champions of the FIBA U19 World Cup with eight titles as well as three second placed finishes and once taking third place.
Germany's star group of 2006-born players also have never lost a game in their generation - winning two FIBA Youth EuroBasket events.
Germany have already guaranteed their best-ever result at a FIBA Youth World Cup, having previously placed fourth in 1987's FIBA U19 World Cup.
Who will end up winning? USA's Redeem Team or Germany's Golden Generation?
USA generation 2006-2007: 25W-0L
Year | Competition | Record | Final standing |
|---|---|---|---|
2023 | FIBA U16 AmeriCup | 6-0 | Champion |
2024 | FIBA U18 AmeriCup | 6-0 | Champion |
2024 | FIBA U17 World Cup | 7-0 | Champion |
2025 | FIBA U19 World Cup | 6-0 | ??? |
USA won the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2023 and six of those players are on the current U19 roster. Seven of the players from the USA's record-breaking championship team from the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 are together on the U19 squad. And the current roster also includes five players from the title-winning team at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup 2024.
Germany generation 2006: 21W-0L
Year | Competition | Record | Final standing |
|---|---|---|---|
2022 | FIBA U16 EuroBasket, Division B | 8-0 | Champion |
2024 | FIBA U18 EuroBasket | 7-0 | Champion |
2025 | FIBA U19 World Cup | 6-0 | ??? |
Germany's 2006 generation has already left a major legacy for the country. They won the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, Division B to get the nation back into Division A. Eight of the players from that team are in Lausanne. Two summers later, the generation claimed the title at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024 with nine current players helping give the country their first-ever FIBA Youth EuroBasket title.
Not included in the above table was the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023, where Germany took third place, the country's first podium finish at the junior continental level. Four players from the 2023 team are in Lausanne, but they were playing a year younger than the rest of the competition.
Key matchup: Brown vs Anderson
Two of the best point guards in the competition will be going at it on both ends of the ball, knowing their play on offense and defense will be key to their team's chances. Brown leads the USA team in scoring and assists with 15.3 and 6.5, respectively. Brown has dished out the second-most assists in the competition and he also has connected on 51% three-pointers - hitting 3.0 triples per game.
Anderson, meanwhile, is ranked seventh in scoring at 17.2 points and he also has amassed 4.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.2 steals. He's the only player in the competition with two games scoring 25+ points. He is ranked fifth in the competition in assists. Anderson has however committed 3.8 turnovers per game, playing in 32 minutes a contest. His ball-handling will be critical for Germany's chances.
X-factors
It's not very often that an assistant coach is an X-factor but USA's Jeffrey McCasland will play a major role in the team's preparation for the Final. That is because McCasland is head basketball coach at Texas Tech University, which happens to be the college where Germany point guard Christian Anderson plays. So McCasland will know intimately some of Anderson's main tendacies and how the USA team can attack him.
Stats don't lie
Germany will have to find a way to slow down USA's offense, which is on a record-setting pace with 115.5 points per game. That would blow away the previous best mark of 108.9 points per game by Yugoslavia in 1987.
Germany, for their part, rank third with 87.5 points per contest. This is a matchup of the top two three-point shooting teams - USA tops at 40% and Germany at 32%. USA also are first in assists (28.5) and Germany are second (21.0).
Defensive, USA's pressure has been stifling with 15.3 steals per game - most in the competition. Germany find themselves at the opposite end in that stat with a tournament low 5.7 steals per outing. USA do a good job taking care of the ball with 14.3 turnovers while Germany give up the ball 16.7 times a game.
Past matchups
USA have only played Germany twice at the youth level - both of them in this competition. The first game was an 88-87 overtime victory for Germany in the Semi-Final group stage in 1983. The Americans beat Grermany 81-59 in the Quarter-Finals of the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup.
FIBA