SAITAMA -- In the long road to the semifinals, 74 games have been contested at the FIBA World Championship.

News photoLebron James, driving past Germay's Demond Greene, left, and Pascal Roller, right, leads Team USA into Friday's semifinal against Greece. AP PHOTO

Now, finally, it's time for the blockbuster contests.

Friday's first semifinal features the headline-grabbing United States vs. gutsy yet polished Greece at 4:30 p.m. at Saitama Super Arena.

The second semifinal pits 2004 Olympic champion Argentina against red-hot Spain, winners of 16 straight games. Those winners square off Sunday night at 7:30.

In Wednesday's quarterfinals, Team USA turned up the heat on Germany in the second half of an 85-65 victory. Greece was more clinical than flashy in its 73-56 defeat of France.

Both squads are 7-0 after the quarterfinals.

"The semifinal will be a great game," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

"Greece plays defense about as well as anybody in the world. Their coach (Panagiotis Yannakis) is a very good friend of mine. We knew each other as young men and now we're a little bit older. He's someone I admire.

"They are a championship team. They play with that type of solidarity, and we're going to have to play older, because they are a strong and mature basketball team."

Greek players, none of which played in the NBA in 2005-06, echoed Coach K's remarks about their solidarity being a key component of its success.

The team's goals trump individual achievement, said guard Theodoros Papaloukas.

In front of a large throng of cameras and microphones, Papaloukas dissected this success, saying his team has the ability to control the game.

"We had defense (and) everybody played for the team," he said, speaking specifically about the win over France, but making statements that pinpoint Greece's trademarks.

Greek reached the final four with consecutive victories over Qatar (84-64), Lithuania (81-76), Australia (72-69), Brazil (91-80), Turkey (76-69) China (95-64) and France.

Team USA's seven wins have come in this order: Puerto Rico (111-100), China (121-90), Slovenia (114-95), Italy (94-85), Senegal (103-58), Australia (113-73) and Germany.

Team USA forced 24 German turnovers in making up for a poor shooting night (32-for-85) against a bend-but-don't-break 2-3 zone.

Despite a lackluster shooting performance, four U.S. players scored in double figures with Carmelo Anthony's 19 points leading the way.

Furthermore, the U.S. squad grabbed 48 rebounds, with nine players pulling down three or more.

It was a reminder that LeBron James' overall talent and Dwyane Wade's individual brilliance (20.0 points per game entering the quarters, but a 1-for-11 shooting night Wednesday) aren't the only factors that can catapult this team to lasting greatness.

"The important thing for us is to play great defense for a whole game," Team USA forward Shane Battier said, looking ahead to Friday.

The Greeks, who have yielded 69 or fewer points five times this tournament, pride themselves on defensive effort.

Guards Dimitris Diamantidis and Papaloukas were 1-2 at worlds in steals per game entering the quarterfinals.

Big men Lazaros Papadopoulos and Antonios Fotsis lead the charge on the boards, though none of the Greeks has been a game-changing force at rebounding in this tournament.

Still Yannakis' squad has made the plays it needs to make, even if it hasn't topped 100 points in a game or delivered as many "wow, showed that again" plays as Coach K's collection of NBA All-Stars.

Offensively, Greece could face a formidable challenge from point guards Chris Paul and Kirk Hinrich. Their ball pressure defense is terrific and they utilize their quickness to force mistakes.

On paper the U.S. is the better team. In a seven-game playoff series, that could be a huge factor; but in a single game, that could be insignificant.

The Greeks enter this contest with a singular focus, a tribute to the steely resolve of their leader who won a EuroBasket title as a player (in 1987) and as a coach (in 2005).

"This game showed our team can control the games and play the way we need to play to win games," Yannakis reminded reporters after his team beat France.

"Basketball is not only dribbling and shooting. It is about defense. My team can put ego out of the team."

But can it spoil Team USA's championship aspirations?

"I think it's going to be a very competitive game," James said Wednesday.

"We have to have the defensive mind-set that we had in the second half today and do it for 40 minutes on Friday."

The U.S. squad set its sights on one goal before worlds: to win it all.

Playing in the third-place game isn't an option.

"We win or go home," said James, not factoring in the details of the consolation bracket. "It's win or die.

"We've just got to go out and win."