FIBA World Cup 2014 Gold Medal Game: Viewing Info, Preview for USA vs. Serbia

Finally, basketball fans get the Team USA vs. Serbia final that everyone was dying to see, right?

The United States held up its end of the bargain at the 2014 FIBA World Cup by making it to the final, but Team USA was supposed to meet Spain on Sunday. Instead, Spain lost to France in the quarterfinals, and France lost to Serbia in the semifinals.

USA forward Kenneth Faried went on record talking about how La Roja's defeat spoiled what was his dream matchup, per ESPN.com's Marc Stein:

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Following a comprehensive 96-68 trouncing of Lithuania in Thursday night's semifinals, Faried admitted he's "disappointed" Spain won't be the opponent in Sunday's championship game of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup because he "wanted to beat them in their own country."

A number of Faried's teammates declined to publicly share the same sentiments, well drilled to avoid anything resembling a controversial statement while representing their country.

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Serbia trounced Brazil in the quarters and did well to beat France by five points in the semis. The U.S. has rarely been tested in the tournament, so Sunday's final will certainly be the Americans' most difficult game to date.

When: Sunday, Sept. 14, at 3 p.m. ET

Where: Palacio de los Deportes de la Comunidad, Madrid, Spain

Watch: ESPN2

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Many will be favoring Team USA. Man-for-man, the U.S. has more talent, and its closest margin of victory has been 21 points, against Turkey in the group phase.

The lure of gold should also be enough to ward off any stagnation early in the game, which eliminates what's been one of the team's biggest issues in the tournament.

As NBA.com's John Schuhmann pointed out, the top priority for Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski will be figuring out how to stop Milos Teodosic:

Teodosic leads Serbia in scoring with 14.0 points. He's also the team's leading assist man with 4.1 dimes a game. The 27-year-old point guard has been an efficient shooter, hitting 55.2 percent from the field, including 48.9 percent from downtown.

Both Stein and J.E. Skeets of The Starters are among those hoping Teodosic makes his way to the NBA at some point:

One of the things Team USA does so well is disrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm. By forcing turnovers or ill-advised shots, the U.S. can get out on the fast break and score in transition. And when Team USA is in transition, nobody can stop it.

Conversely, Team USA can struggle when a team boasts a strong half-court offense. Ball movement is key to finding holes in the U.S. defense. That's why so many thought Spain would be the perfect foil.

Teodosic will be the proverbial tip of Serbia's spear. Almost every Serbian half-court set will go through him. If he's finding a groove on the offensive end and helping his teammates find open shots, the U.S. will be in trouble.

Bogdan Bogdanovic, the Phoenix Suns' first-round pick in 2014, will also be a handful for Team USA. He's averaging 11.6 points and 2.8 assists a game.

Matt Petersen of Suns.com highlighted Bogdanovic's performance in the fourth quarter against France as one of the biggest factors in Serbia's semifinal win:

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

Between Teodosic and Bogdanovic, Serbia's backcourt will give Team USA plenty of trouble.

While Serbia will lean heavily on its talented guards, the U.S. will rely on Faried and Anthony Davis in the frontcourt. The two are averaging 12.5 and 13.0 points a game, respectively. Faried has the slight edge on the boards, grabbing 7.9 rebounds a game compared to Davis' 6.9.

ESPN's Fran Fraschilla believes that Faried has so far been the more valuable of the two:

As if that duo won't be enough to worry about, Serbia will also have to limit James Harden's drives into the paint and contain Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry on the perimeter.

Harden leads Team USA with 13.1 points a game, while the Splash Brothers are combining for 23.6 points a game.

The U.S. can't mess around in this game. If it looks sluggish to start the game again, it might not be able to recover in the second half.

The World Cup final has the potential to become a blowout, but it would be foolish to count out Serbia completely.