Can you actually reach the World Cup from the Pre-Qualifiers?
MUNICH (Germany) - With the start of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers just around the corner, you must be thinking: "Can you actually make it to the World Cup from here?"
MUNICH (Germany) - With the start of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers just around the corner, you must be thinking: "Can you actually make it to the World Cup from the Pre-Qualifiers?"
Well, the short answer is: yes, you can!
The slightly longer answer would be: yes, you can, but it's going to be quite a challenge with only two teams ever accomplishing the feat.
And if you dig even deeper, the long answer you would find is: Yes, you can with Latvia and Montenegro showing everyone how it's done with their incredible qualifying campaigns in 2023, when they went from the Pre-Qualifiers to the World Cup, continuing to turn heads until the very end of the tournament in Manila.
However, others haven't fared as well. Teams that advanced from the Pre-Qualifiers to the Qualifiers proper have gone on to register a combined record of 44 wins and 90 losses for a winning percentage of just 32.8 percent.
Which national teams performed the best in the European Qualifiers and who got the closest to punching their ticket?
You will find all the answers below:
| EDITION | COUNTRY | QUALIFIERS RECORD | QUALIFIED FOR WORLD CUP? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Latvia | 9-1 | ✅ |
| 2023 | Montenegro | 7-5 | ✅ |
| 2023 | Iceland | 5-5 | ❌ |
| 2023 | Sweden | 5-7 | ❌ |
| 2019 | Bulgaria | 4-8 | ❌ |
| 2019 | Estonia | 4-8 | ❌ |
| 2019 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3-9 | ❌ |
| 2019 | Netherlands | 3-9 | ❌ |
| 2019 | Belarus | 1-5 | ❌ |
| 2019 | Sweden | 1-5 | ❌ |
| 2019 | Austria | 0-6 | ❌ |
| 2019 | Kosovo | 0-6 | ❌ |
| 2023 | North Macedonia | 0-6 | ❌ |
| 2023 | Portugal | 0-6 | ❌ |
| 2023 | Slovakia | 0-6 | ❌ |
| 2023 | Belarus | N/A | ❌ |
FIBA