It’s never wise to look ahead in a tournament when one false move can send you packing, but considering that Team USA is still the favorites to win the gold medal, it’s too tempting to peer down the scope to contemplate their path towards another gold medal.

Team USA will play Team Argentina in the quarterfinals, and the winner of that matchup will play the winner of the Team Spain vs. Team France game in the semifinals.

The semifinals is really the unofficial safe haven of this tournament. Getting to the semifinals guarantees the chance to play for a medal, whether it’s gold in the championship game or bronze in the consolation game.

However, Team USA has very high standards for itself. Anything less than a gold medal would be seen as a failure.

In the lore of Team USA basketball, Team Argentina looms as perhaps the greatest and most influential villain.

Team Argentina beat Team USA in the 2004 Athens Olympics, and the loss catalyzed a massive shift in USA basketball to where they currently stand.

Team USA hasn’t lost an Olympic game since that fateful meeting, which showed that a once seemingly invincible squad was in fact mortal.

Carmelo Anthony is the only Team USA player still on the roster from 2004. Team Argentina has a handful of players remaining from their gold medal squad in 2004, though.

Manu Ginobili, Carlos Delfino, Luis Scola, and Andres Nocioni were on Argentina’s gold medal winning team in 2004. A third of their 2016 roster handed Team USA quite possibly its most devastating loss ever in an international competition.

The good news for Team USA is that in its exhibition series before the Rio Olympics, they beat Argentina by 37 points.

If USA can vanquish Argentina to advance to the semifinals, they’ll meet one of two challenging opponents next.

Team Spain has won two consecutive silver medals in Olympic play, and Team France nearly edged Team USA in their Group A game without Tony Parker.

Spain’s roster is different this tournament than it has been in the past, though, as they are without the services of star center Marc Gasol.

However, USA’s path to a gold medal is challenging, and it’s important that they come out energized and focused after the close games at the end of their Group A schedule.