Germany expects a physical game against a strong defensive opponent in the World Cup final against Serbia on Sunday (September 10th, 2023). Concentration is required so that history does not repeat itself.
If you ask Franz Wagner, the German strategy for the World Cup final against Serbia sounds very simple: “Just play the same way we did before,” he says confidently the day before the final. And rightly so, because the team set a record against the USA; no one before them scored 113 points in a World Cup semi-final. Six players scored in double figures, and defensively the Americans had no answer to the German team basketball.
Basketball World Cup, final arrow right Sun., from 2.40 p.m. live – Germany against Serbia arrow right
DBB coach Gordon “Gordie” Herbert is not sure that this will be successful again against Serbia: “Their defense is aggressive and plays with a lot of pressure,” said Herbert. He sat in his hotel room in front of the television until three in the morning to analyze Svetislav Pesic’s team. His team knows: “I expect a very physical game,” says forward Franz Wagner.
DBB team: Bring Franz Wagner into play
In order to be able to build on the offensive performance from the game against the USA against the Serbian defense, it will depend on how well Wagner comes into the game. After missing four games in the group stage with an ankle injury, the 22-year-old played his way to the fore in the knockout rounds.
Wagner is a basketball weapon primarily because at 2.08 meters he is one of the tallest players on his team, but at the same time he dribbles just as quickly and agilely as the shorter captain Dennis Schröder.
Opposing teams have to make a decision again and again in defense: If Wagner is covered by players of comparable size, he has a speed advantage; if a smaller player picks him up, he can simply throw it over his head.
Germany or Serbia – which team is wider?
A strong Franz Wagner could upset the balance of the Serbian defense and thus open up gaps for other players. They have already shown that his teammates can take advantage of this. Six German players have already scored 20 or more points in at least one game in this tournament – among the Serbs there are only two: NBA professionals Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nikola Jovic.
The fact that Jovic’s namesake Nikola Jokic, probably the best basketball player in the world at the moment, canceled the tournament is hardly significant. Serbia shines with strong combination team basketball that puts all players in good shooting positions.
Against Canada, the bench players scored almost one in three Serbian points. In the final, it could be crucial which team works better across the board. “We are playing against a team with a good mix of players,” warns Herbert.
Implement plans – aggressively against Bogdanovic
Without Serbian playmaker Bogdan Bogdanovic, this mix would be significantly worse. He has been one of the players of the tournament not just since his performance against Canada, when he was his team’s best scorer with 23 points. Bogdanovic leads the Serbs and takes on a similar role on and off the floor as Dennis Schröder did with the Germans.
No player has scored as many three-pointers at a World Cup in 30 years as the 31-year-old, while at the same time he always creates good positions for his teammates. In order to prevent their throws from a distance, Germany will have to defend forward just as aggressively as the Serbs.
Mental freshness is required among Germany’s basketball players
In order for this to be successful without too many fouls, calm and concentration are required. Not that easy in the biggest game in German basketball history: “It’s a unique opportunity to be in this final, the players understand that,” says Herbert. Mental recovery is all the more important. So that history doesn’t repeat itself.
At last year’s European Championship, the German team’s concentration waned somewhat after the quarter-final win against the favored Greeks, remembers Herbert. The result was a narrow semi-final defeat against Spain. Herbert will therefore be happy to hear Franz Wagner say on Saturday off: “Today it is important to recover mentally.”
2023-09-09 21:57:53
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