Group A:
On Wednesday Angola played Germany with the winner advancing to the knockout round. And in a major shocker, Angola was victorious in overtime. Remember this same Angola team lost by 50 to Serbia, and Germany beat Serbia in double overtime. But after winning that 2 OT game, Germany simply hasn’t shown up for two straight games and the loss to Angola eliminated them from the field. Angola (2-2) now faces Australia (2-2) with the winner taking third place in the group. Meanwhile Serbia (3-1) faces Argentina (4-0) with the winner taking first place in the group.
Group B:
Slovenia (3-1) edged Brazil by three to clinch second place in Group B, behind only the US (4-0). Brazil (2-2) now faces Croatia (2-2) for third place.
Group C:
As I expected, Turkey had a bit of a let down after beating Greece, but Turkey still rode the home court advantage to a two point win over Puerto Rico. Turkey (4-0) has now won Group C thanks to head-to-head wins over Greece and Russia. Greece (3-1) and Russia (3-1) play for second place on Thursday. China (1-3) and Puerto Rico (1-3) can both still take the final spot in the knockout round, but Puerto Rico holds the tie-breaker after winning the head-to-head matchup on Wednesday. And with Puerto Rico facing winless Ivory Coast Thursday, it looks like China is done.
Group D:
The top four are set after Canada stayed winless losing to New Zealand and after Lebanon lost to Spain and was eliminated. That leaves only seeding to discuss. Lithuania (4-0) won the group on Wednesday beating France by 14. France (3-1) now faces New Zealand (2-2) on Thursday with second place on the line in the group. If France wins, they get second. If New Zealand wins and Spain (2-2) beats Lebanon, there will be a three way tie for second place and points scored tie-breakers will come into play.