It is the US women’s basketball team against Serbia shortly after midnight Friday morning in the semi-finals of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The United States team is one win away from playing for another medal. gold as she heads to the semi-finals. The United States are coming off a streak of unbeaten group games and a win over Australia.

Serbia, who lack WNBA talent, have crossed the line and are looking for the ultimate trophy in a country where the popularity of basketball is massive and growing.

USA vs Serbia: How to watch women’s basketball at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Start time / TV channel – The semi-final match will take place at 12:40 am EST early Friday morning for a live broadcast and televised via NBC. It will be televised at 4 p.m. on NBCSN.

Live streaming: where can I stream the Olympics? NBCOlympics.com | peacock | fuboTV | Sling – You can use your login credentials from your TV provider to track NBCOlympics.com. You can also stream the Olympics through streaming services peacock (which has a free level) and fuboTV (which has a seven-day free trial).

How to watch reruns of the game – If you miss the match live, you can watch the replays anytime via peacock. It will be televised at 4 p.m. on NBCSN.

How to watch the Olympics for free – You can watch most Olympic events for free via peacock, which has a free standard level that contains ads. You can also attend seven days of events (including prime time reruns) for free by signing up for a trial of fuboTV. Again, some live shows will be exclusive to Premium peacock. However, delayed broadcasts are available free of charge.

More coverage via Associated Press

SAITAMA, Japan (AP) – A dominant quarterfinal performance from Breanna Stewart and her American teammates left the team two wins away from claiming a seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal.

Next are Rio 2016 bronze medalists Serbia. Friday’s other semi-final match will feature a group rematch with France against Japan – sides that the United States has at times had against. hard to beat.

“It’s a mark of our pool. The games have not only helped us, but Japan, France and even Nigeria. It was pretty cool to see that happen, ”said USA coach Dawn Staley of having three teams from the same group reaching the semi-finals.

There isn’t much Olympic history between the United States and Serbia; the Americans came away with a 26-point victory in their only meeting in 2016. Several of the American players, however, know their opponent, having played for teams with them overseas during the WNBA offseason.

“They’re tough, we were actually talking about them before. Like all of us who have played abroad, you have always had a Serb on your team, ”said five-time Olympian Sue Bird. “You always had a player on your team and he was a Serbian player. They just know how to play ball, they know how to play basketball.

The teams competed in an Olympic qualifier in 2020 ahead of the global coronavirus shutdown. The Americans came away with a 19-point victory.

“It’s a team that never stops. They’re physical, ”said Stewart, who scored 20 of his 23 first-half points in the quarter-final victory over Australia. “They play inside and outside. I can’t wait to compete with them.

The Americans had slow starts against opponents to open the Olympics, following the first three quarters of three group matches, including clashes against France and Japan. That changed in the quarterfinals as the United States took a 14 point lead and never looked back against Australia.

“We are happy to have played well. It has nothing to do with the score, but what it was, ”said Bird. “That’s why we’re all going to fall asleep feeling good. But that doesn’t mean anything for the semi-finals.

Serbia advanced to the semi-finals in rally past china. The Serbs are led by Sonja Vasic and Ana Dabovic, who played briefly in the WNBA. The pair helped Serbia recover from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

“We certainly don’t want to stop there,” said Serbia coach Marina Maljkovic. “We really want to continue and try to bring this medal to our country that we love so much.”

The other semi-final will be a rematch of a group match that Japan won 74-70.

“The game we played against Japan was not us,” said Gabby Williams, who made three of four free throws in the final 81 seconds to help France beat Spain in the quarter-finals. “I think it’s the best basketball we’ve played.”

Japan claimed the most exciting quarter-final victory bordering Belgium 86-85 on a 3-point with 15.2 seconds to go. This is the first time that the Japanese team have reached the medal round.

Coach Tom Hovasse has changed the schedule since taking office in 2017. He’s not just looking for the country’s first medal in basketball, he predicted when he accepted the job that Japan would win a medal. gold by beating the United States.

“At my press conference four years ago, I told the media I wanted to beat America and win a gold medal and they thought I was crazy. he said. “They don’t think I’m crazy anymore.”