EuroBasket 2025 Prediction: Lithuania – Great Britain (27/08/2025)

On August 27, the long-awaited European Men’s Basketball Championship finally begins. Lithuania and Great Britain have been given the honor of participating in the tournament’s opening game at the Nokia Arena (Finland).

The match will be the first step in a long and intense journey in this championship, where every victory can be decisive.

When it became clear that D. Sabonis and M. Buzelis would not be joining the Lithuanian national team at this year’s European Basketball Championship, many Lithuanians left feeling downhearted. However, with the start of the preparatory matches, any doubts quickly dissipated.

Since August 1, the men’s national team has played seven friendly matches, losing only one. The Turkish team caused the most trouble in Vilnius, winning 81:84 in the final moments of the game.

Apart from the overtime victory against Latvia, there were no other difficult matches. The most notable victories were against Turkey and Slovenia.

This time, the Turks, playing with an incomplete lineup, were crushed by a margin of 21 points (70:91), while the Slovenians, who played in Šiauliai without L. Dončić was sent home with a 22-point deficit (94:72).

The most impressive aspects at the moment are the excellent teamwork and solid defense of the Lithuanian team. The national team has conceded more than 72 points in only two games and allowed Sakartvelo to score just 54 points in total.

The British basketball team continues to experience challenging times. Sports bookmakers currently see Great Britain as outsiders in EuroBasket, giving them low odds compared to stronger European teams. The British are heading to this championship without any notable names, and the country’s best player, OG Anunoby, will not be participating in the tournament.

It was no surprise that the team did not shine in friendly matches either. At first, a narrow defeat to France (74:67) gave cause for hope, but then the situation only got worse – the British suffered four more defeats in a row.

Great Britain remains one of the outsiders in the group and has no major ambitions in this championship.