The greetings to the second home fell out. When the American basketball star Paolo Banchero was asked before the direct World Cup duel in Manila if he still had a message for the Italian fans, he said with an expressionless expression: “No.” And with that, the stage is set for an explosive World Cup -Quarterfinals, in which Banchero will be in particular focus this Tuesday (2:40 p.m. / Magentasport).

In Italy against the USA, everyone is looking to double agent Banchero

The 20-year-old with an American mother and an Italian father initially announced that he wanted to play for Italy at the World Cup. In June of this year, the top talent took an unexpected turn and became a double agent. The USA and head coach Steve Kerr were plagued by many cancellations and tried to put together a ready team of young stars for the World Cup in Asia. Banchero subsequently agreed with the US team, as did Austin Reaves, who had considered moving to Germany because of his German grandmother.

While the Reaves cancellation was relatively silent, Italy’s FA were disappointed with the turn of events – and especially with the way Banchero communicated it. “It was a legitimate decision but he could have called to let us know. Instead, we found out about his decision from the newspapers,” Italian basketball boss Gianni Petrucci told Gazzetta dello Sport. And the official was even clearer: “He fooled us.” In the quarter-finals in Manila, Italy has the chance for sporting revenge.