Spain vs Ivory Coast: Analysis and Prediction – Spain and Ivory Coast will play against each other in the FIBA World Cup first round.
Spain vs Ivory Coast Odds
Spain vs Ivory Coast (1/2): 1.01 / 13.90
Asian Handicap (-24.5 / +24.5): 1.92 / 1.86
Total Over/Under (152.5): 1.84 / 1.90
*Odds are active at the time the article is published
Spain Team News
Spain played five games in preparation. They beat Venezuela, Slovenia, and the Dominican Republic, plus lost to the USA and Canada. Traditionally, La Roja usually does not play maximally at the start of the tournament, so even friendly matches cannot be a realistic picture of the team. Sergio Scariolo has always been a master at saving the best for last, so failure against Canada should not worry them.
In the absence of Ricky Rubio, the team’s leaders are veterans Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez, who are waiting for a chance in the most important matches of the upcoming World Cup. The new reinforcement of Panathinaikos, Juancho Hernangomez, proved in the final of last year’s Eurobasket how good he can be. Thus, together with his brother Willy, the most valuable player in the same competition, he will represent the team’s greatest strength in the offense.
Spain did not come to the championship with the best team. In the past, they have proven that, even in such situations, they have a great chance of winning the trophy. The two-time world champion was not the favorite at the last Mundobasket, as well as at the Eurobasket. Despite this, they won the gold medal. This time, the situation is very similar, and Spain will have enough space to raise their form throughout the group phase before the next stage.
Ivory Coast Team News
Ivory Coast played nine friendly matches. They beat Portugal, the Czech Republic, Guinea twice, and Lebanon. Defeats came from Jordan, Bosnia and Herzegovina twice, and the Philippines in the last test before the tournament. Such results are a realistic indicator of the quality of the team led by Dejan Prokic. The victory over the Czech Republic by as many as 16 points is more a consequence of the fact that the rivals didn’t play with their best team.
Graveline’s player, Vafess Fofana, is the most important player in the national team. During the preparations, he played various games, such as the one with Jordan. Then he scored 10 points and added five rebounds and four assists. In that period, Nisse Zouzoua was also excellent. He was especially notable against Portugal and Bosnia and Herzegovina with 23 and 21 points.
Ivory Coast was lucky during the draw for two reasons. The first is that they got Iran, a competitive rival. The second is that they will have the opportunity to play against the greats, Spain and Brazil, and enjoy those duels. The placement at the World Cup itself is a great success for this team and anything more than that would be an additional plus.
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Spain vs Ivory Coast H2H
Spain and Ivory Coast have met twice so far. In both cases, in friendly matches, La Roja won by a large margin.
Absences and Injuries
Spain is not counting on one of their best players, as Ricky Rubio decided to skip his national team duties due to his mental recovery. Lorenzo Brown will not help the world champion either, due to fatigue. The recently injured Alberto Diaz has recovered and is ready for the next challenges. Euroleague players were absent from Ivory Coast’s roster. Alex Poythress is injured, while Matt Costello is rested.
Spain vs Ivory Coast Prediction
La Roja is better in all positions and a convincing victory is not in question. In the preliminary games, this team played one duel with a rival of similar quality as Ivory Coast (Venezuela) and limited them to 57 points. It is also expected that in the upcoming clash, Scariolo’s team will break the resistance of the African national team with defense and create easy points from that. Spain will try to enter the tournament at a slow pace and keep fresh for the more important match against Brazil in the next round.
Tip-off Time: Saturday, 26.08.2023, 15:30 CET
Prediction: Spain -23
Odds: 1.72
Sportsbook: 22Bet
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