The recent battles between France and Spain has been referred to as the “El classico” (The Classic) of European basketball. The last match of the day is a meetup of two titans.

Yes, it’s Spain vs. France once again (watch online)

Spain has faltered a couple times during the tournament but came up big and showed their winning character when it mattered in a tight 73-71 win over Greece. With that win, Spain will now play in their ninth straight EuroBasket semi-finals.

Just a few years ago, Spain was packed with superstars and NBA players and it didn’t seem as if La Roja would ever be dethroned as the powerhouse of Europe.

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Today, Spain is still a giant in Europe; packed with talent all over the roster with Eurobasket MVP candidate Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic, Sergio Llull, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Fernandez and Victor Claver but even still, it comes down to wins and France has the momentum there — more on that later.

As hard as it is to believe, Spain is considered an underdog when their opponent is France. Though Spain can put the ball in the hoop (ranked third in offense) they are also allowing their opponents to do the same. Spain’s defense is clearly a problem, allowing 78 points a game which is just a lowly 19/24 teams. They’ll not only have to continue scoring, but have to shore that up defense if they want keep up with France.

There are only two undefeated teams remaining in the tournament — France and Serbia. France got their latest win when they pushed aside Latvia for their sixth straight win and their third-straight final four showing at Eurobasket.

It’s no surprise that France is an undefeated heavyweight when you boast a roster that features Tony Parker — now Eurobasket’s all-time leading scorer. Alongside Parker is his Spur’s teammate Boris Diaw and fellow NBA players Rudy Gobert and Nicholas Batum.

It doesn’t stop there: Nando De Colo and Joffrey Lauvergne are France’s second and third leading scorer. Former NBA player Mickael Gelabale and current NBA player Evan Fournier round out the players getting consistent minutes for Les Bleus.

The big names are impressive but it’s not just name recognition that wins games, it’s how they work together. And France continues to compete on both sides of the floor — the team ranks fourth in overall offense and ranks first in team defense of all the teams competing in Eurobasket.

As if you need anymore reason to watch France vs. Spain as the biggest match of Eurobasket 2015 so far, here’s a look at the recent showdowns (from Eurobasket):

The countries’ history is full of big game showdowns. Spain beat France in the EuroBasket 2009 quarter-finals, EuroBasket 2011 final and the 2012 London Olympics quarter-finals. France finally broke through against Spain, winning in overtime in the EuroBasket 2013 semi-finals and then knocked off the hosting Spanish side in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup quarter-Finals.

The France vs. Spain game will begin at 21:00 local time on September 17th. Follow Spain, France with thousands of European basketball fans in our forum.