The competition exists out of three groups of four, with each team playing another once. Standings are primarily based on win/loss-record, with the team with the most points after a certain time limit winning a match. The top two ranked teams advance to the quarterfinals, together with the two best third-placed teams. After this, a single knockout phase is played, with the winners of the quarterfinals advancing to the semifinals, and the winners of the final winning the event.
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Twelve teams qualified for the event with the United States as the big favorite for the title as nine-time Olympic champion and ten-time world champion. Behind the Americans, there were plenty of other were ready to claim the medals, including Australia and Spain after having won the remaining medals at the previous two world championships, Serbia as the defending Olympic bronze medalist, and Canada and France as the remaining teams of the top five of the world rankings. Other potential outsiders and medal contenders included Belgium, China, and Japan. Nigeria, Puerto Rico, and South Korea completed the field.
South Korea
Spain
Serbia
Canada
Japan
France
Nigeria
United States
Australia
Belgium
Puerto Rico
China
