MIES (Switzerland) - The games in Group B of the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2026 promise plenty of intrigue with the four teams coming from four different continents.
And all four of the teams reached the Final of their respective cadet continental championship. Canada were runners-up at the U16 AmeriCup while Lithuania were runners-up at U16 EuroBasket, China were runners-up at the U16 Asia Cup and Cameroon were runners-up at the U16 AfroBasket to reach their first-ever U17 World Cup.
The Favorite: Canada
Canada would probably be considered the favorites of the group, given their talent level compared to Lithuania. The North Americans are also heading to Istanbul with higher expectations after the country won the title at the U18 AmeriCup earlier this month.
The Underdog: Cameroon
This is a debate between China and Cameroon - which will be decided on day one with a matchup between the two teams. Let's go with Cameroon as the underdog since they will be making their U17 World Cup debut while China are in the compeition for the seventh time. Still, the Africans have the potential to surprise some teams in this competition.
The Pivotal Game: Canada v Lithuania
Supremacy in Group B could be decided on the first day of action as Canada face off against Lithuania straight away. There is an extra motivation in this game as the winner of Group B cannot meet the winner of Group A until the Final - with USA expected to take first place in Group A. These teams faced off in the Classification 5-6 game in 2024 with Lithuania winning an overtime thriller 106-104.
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