MADRID-- Huge upsets lit up the basketball World Cup on Wednesday as France beat hosts Spain 65-52 while Serbia thumped Brazil 84-56 to set up an intriguing semi-final clash.

Holders the United States and Lithuania will meet in the first semi in Barcelona on Thursday while the Serbs and the French will lock horns in Madrid on Friday.

Fancied to stroll into an anticipated title bout with the Americans, the Spaniards were stunned by a French side missing several top players including four-time NBA champion Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs.

Defying a deafening roar from the passionate home fans, France led from start to finish in a physical encounter which threatened to boil over in the third quarter when a scuffle broke out among rival players on the court.

The French pulled away in a tense finish as forward Boris Diaw led the charge with 15 points and five rebounds and was aided by Thomas Heurtel, who racked up 13 and four assists.

"It was a very bad match, we weren't in the game at any point in time and that's why we are out," Spain playmaker Sergio Rodriguez told Cadena Ser radio.

"We are very frustrated, we all wanted to go to Sunday's final and in my six years with the national team this is the biggest blow I have suffered.

"We need to analyse what we did wrong and try to go forward," he said.

A resurgent Serbia, who squeezed through the preliminary group stage, produced a second successive upset in the knockout rounds and brushed aside the Brazilians after they eliminated Greece in the round of 16.

Led by majestic playmaker Milos Teodosic, the game's top scorer with 23 points and four assists, the Serbs never looked back after they engineered a 21-2 run late in the first half and early in the second.

A more athletic Brazilian team was confined to just 22 field goals from 65 attempts by an ironclad Serbian defence which forced their rivals to take a series of difficult long-range shots.

"We dreamed of reaching the last four before the tournament to make our fans happy because basketball is more than just a game in Serbia," the Balkan country's coach Aleksandar Djordjevic told a news conference.

"The passion that we have for the game as a nation means that players have to leave it all out there on the court in every game and this is how we will head into the next challenge.

"I rarely single out individuals but Teodosic's talent and vision paved the way this afternoon," added Djordjevic, a former trophy-laden point guard who led the former Yugoslavia to the 1998 World Cup title.

ITALY-- Dutch 16-year-old Max Verstappen had his first proper Formula One test on Wednesday as Toro Rosso ramp up preparations for his race debut next year as the sport's youngest ever driver.

The Italy-based team said in a statement that Verstappen, who will be 17 on Sept. 30, drove the 2012 Toro Rosso at the Adria circuit near the Faenza factory.

The son of former F1 racer Jos Verstappen attempted a mixture of short and long runs, as well as practice starts and pitstops, and completed 148 laps of the 2.702km circuit.

"I was looking forward to my first drive in a Formula One car on a proper race track and I really enjoyed it," he said.

"It was a good opportunity to work with Xevi (Pujolar), who will be my race engineer next year, as well as having a chance to get used to all the buttons on the steering wheel."

Team sporting director Steve Nielsen said the youngster had done "a very competent job, giving the impression he has been driving a Formula One car for quite a while, not like someone on their first day behind the wheel.

"He made no mistakes all day, seemed confident and once he was told something he remembered it. In general, he coped very well with this first test."

Toro Rosso's signing of the teenager has been controversial, with some questioning the wisdom of bringing a driver into the sport two years earlier than the previous youngest ever debutant.

However, Christian Horner, principal of sister team and champions Red Bull, defended the decision at last weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

"I think it's a case of if you're quick enough, you're old enough. Very seldomly a special talent comes along and warrants a place in Formula One," he said. "Verstappen quite clearly is a considerable talent."

ITALY-- Dutch 16-year-old Max Verstappen had his first proper Formula One test on Wednesday as Toro Rosso ramp up preparations for his race debut next year as the sport's youngest ever driver.

The Italy-based team said in a statement that Verstappen, who will be 17 on Sept. 30, drove the 2012 Toro Rosso at the Adria circuit near the Faenza factory.

The son of former F1 racer Jos Verstappen attempted a mixture of short and long runs, as well as practice starts and pitstops, and completed 148 laps of the 2.702km circuit.

"I was looking forward to my first drive in a Formula One car on a proper race track and I really enjoyed it," he said.

"It was a good opportunity to work with Xevi (Pujolar), who will be my race engineer next year, as well as having a chance to get used to all the buttons on the steering wheel."

Team sporting director Steve Nielsen said the youngster had done "a very competent job, giving the impression he has been driving a Formula One car for quite a while, not like someone on their first day behind the wheel.

"He made no mistakes all day, seemed confident and once he was told something he remembered it. In general, he coped very well with this first test."

Toro Rosso's signing of the teenager has been controversial, with some questioning the wisdom of bringing a driver into the sport two years earlier than the previous youngest ever debutant.

However, Christian Horner, principal of sister team and champions Red Bull, defended the decision at last weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

"I think it's a case of if you're quick enough, you're old enough. Very seldomly a special talent comes along and warrants a place in Formula One," he said. "Verstappen quite clearly is a considerable talent."

BARCELONA, Spain-- Holders the United States ran riot in a 119-76 win over Slovenia while Lithuania beat Turkey 73-61 on Tuesday to set up a mouth-watering basketball World Cup semi-final.

Hosts Spain take on European champions France and Brazil clash with dark horses Serbia in the other two quarter-finals in Madrid on Wednesday.

The Slovenians held their own valiantly in the opening half against the Americans and were only 49-42 down at the interval as forward Domen Lorbek produced a superb performance.

The champions at times looked pedestrian in the first half as their captain James Harden missed his first seven shots, with fellow guard Klay Thompson and athletic centre Anthony Davis pulling the strings to keep them in the driving seat.

But the second period produced one-way traffic as the U.S. hit top gear with six players finishing in double scoring digits. Thompson had a game-high 20 points while Harden and Kenneth Faried added 14 each.

Having arrived in Spain with a squad missing top NBA talent who turned down invitations to play, long-serving U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski was pleased with the effort.

"We played hard but we just couldn't finish in the first half and then the floodgates opened after that," he told a news conference.

"We are beatable there is no doubt about that and that is why I am pleased how we handled it. Normally you get frustrated but we kept our composure and were mature.

"The team is not a powerhouse and we know from previous experience that it is not easy with a young team."

Slovenia coach Jure Zdovc said: "We tried and for the first 23 minutes or so we were close but the power that they have was too much for us.

"They are a good team but they are not unbeatable and I think that the semi-final will be very different."

Former European champions Lithuania, who finished third in the 2010 World Cup, needed a strong final quarter to see off Turkey who made a brighter start and took a 14-6 lead.

Lethal long-range shooting hauled the Lithuanians back into the game as they nailed 10 of 19 three-pointers to turn a 40-36 deficit early in the second half into an unassailable 12-point lead in the closing stages.

Shooting guard Renaldas Seibutis led Lithuania with 19 points, Martynas Pocius added 13 and towering centre Jonas Valanciunas amassed 12 to go with 13 commanding rebounds.