FIBA World Cup 2019: Who will Canada face during pool play? Schedule, rosters and analysis

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The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup is quickly approaching and as Canada continues to prepare with a number of friendly exhibitions, we look ahead towards its opponents during the opening pool play round which begins on Aug. 31 in China.

Canada is a member of Group H and is set to face Australia, Lithuania and Senegal during the first stage. The top two teams from this group will advance to the second stage, in which there will be four groups of four teams that vie to advance to the knockout stage.

With that in mind, here's more on each team that Canada is set to face.

Australia

FIBA Ranking: 11

When they play: Sunday, Sept. 1, 3:30 a.m. ET

Australia Men's National Team Roster
Player Position Height  Team
Aron Baynes C 6'10" Phoenix Suns
Andrew Bogut C 7'0" Sydney Kings
Mitch Creek F 6'5" South East Melbourne Phoenix
Matthew Dellavedova G 6'4" Cleveland Cavaliers
Cameron Gliddon G 6'6" Brisbane Bullets
Chris Goulding G 6'4" Melbourne United
Joe Ingles F 6'8" Utah Jazz
Nicholas Kay F/C 6'9" Perth Wildcats
Jock Landale C 6'11" Zalgiris Kaunas
Patty Mills G 6'0" San Antonio Spurs
Nathan Sobey G 6'2" Brisbane Bullets

With four players currently on an NBA roster and a total of six players with NBA experience, Australia has a number of names that should be familiar to even the more casual fan. Canada has seen the Aussie Boomers twice already during friendly exhibitions, with the two teams splitting the meetings.

Patty Mills, who scored 20 points in the game Australia lost, stands to be one of the more prolific scorers at the World Cup. The guard matchup between him and Canada's Kevin Pangos should be one to keep an eye on.

Lithuania

FIBA Ranking: 6

When they play: Tuesday, Sept. 3, 7:30 a.m. ET

Lithuania Men's National Team Roster
Player Position Height  Team
Arnas Butkevicius F 6'5" BC Rytas
Martinas Geben C 6'9" Juventus Utena
Rokas Giedraitis F 6'7" ALBA Berlin
 capMarius Grrigonis G 6'6" BC Zalgiris
Zygimantas Janavicius G 6'4" BC Skycop
Paulius Jankunas F 6'9" BC Zalgiris
Mantas Kalnietis G 6'5" Lyon ASVEL
Mindaugas Kuzminskas F 6'9" AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan
Lukas Lekavicius G 6'0" Panathinaikos BC OPAP
Domantas Sabonis F 6'10" Indiana Pacers
Renaldas Seibutis G 6'5" Tecnyconta Zaragoza
Edgaras Ulanovas F 6'6" BC Zalgiris
Jonas Valanciunas C 6'11" Memphis Grizzlies

With Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas serving as the team's interior anchors, Lithuania has the ability to pound the ball inside and make the most of their size advantage when the opportunity presents itself. It helps that Valanciunas and Sabonis are far from one-dimensional, and their versatility makes things easier for the rest of the team.

Still, it's not just a two-man show and Lithuania is ranked No. 6 in the world for a reason.

Guard Mantas Kalnietis is worth keeping an eye on as he's an elite distributor – at the 2017 EuroBasket, Kalnietis averaged 7.2 assists per game. This will be his second World Cup with Lithuania; after competing on the team that captured Bronze in 2010, Kalnietis missed the 2014 World Cup with an injury. Now, he will again look to make an impact on this team.

Senegal

FIBA Ranking: 37

When they play: Thursday, Sept. 5, 3:30 a.m. ET

Senegal Men's National Team Roster
Player Position Height  Team
Xane D'Almeida G 6'0" Tarbes-Lourdes
Moustapha Diop F 6'9" Tallinna Kalev
Ibrahima Faye F 6'9" Antwerp Giants
Mouhammad Faye F/C 6'9" Crvena Zvezda
Makhtar Gueye F 6'10" UAB Blazers
Hamady N'Diaye C 7'0" BCM Gravelines
Maurice Ndour F 6'9" Valencia Basket
Momar Ndoye F 6'6" JA Vichy
Youssoupha Ndoye C 6'11" JL Bourg
Lamine Sambe G 6'2" ADA Blois
Djibril Thiam F 6'9" SOPCC Basket
Babacar Toure F/C 6'9" Fribourg Olympic

While Senegal is the lowest-ranked team in this group, it still provides a number of unique challenges, specifically due to the size present on the roster. Just three players on the team are shorter than 6'9", meaning the team will have no shortage of length on both the perimeter and the inside.

One name to keep an eye on with Senegal is 6-foot-9 forward Maurice Ndour, who spent part of the 2016-17 NBA season with the New York Knicks. Ndour has made a name for himself as an elite defender – last season, the 27-year-old was named 2019 VTB United League Defensive Player of the Year for his word on the defensive end as a member of Russia's BC UNICS.

In addition to Ndour is 7-footer Hamdy N'Diaye, who appeared in 33 NBA games over a four-year span after being drafted in 2010. The 32-year-old spent the last two seasons of his professional career in Italy and will be playing in France this upcoming season.

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Gilbert McGregor Photo

Gilbert McGregor is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News.