I was critical of the U.S. women’s basketball team yesterday. It underwhelmed me in a semifinal victory over France.

Then I saw the men play Spain tonight …

And they were just as ragged as were the women … while playing significantly more competent opposition. Which means they are in a much more dangerous situation.

A Spain team led by 36-year-old Pau Gasol (23 points) lost by only six, 82-76, to a team including Kevin Durant, Boogie Cousins, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson. Oh, and Carmelo Anthony, zero championships, who apparently considers this team his — which would explain a lot.

Next up? The gold-medal game against Serbia — the team the Yanks beat by all of three points in pool play. The Serbia that was shooting, at the buzzer, to send their game with the U.S. into overtime.

Have a look at the box; it was a close-run thing.

Anyway, be warned:

The U.S. national team could lose, absolutely, to Serbia in the gold-medal game. So prepare yourself for that eventuality.

It’s not like the U.S. intimidates anyone any more.

In the Rio 2016 tournament, the Yanks defeated France by all of three points (100-97), Australia by 10 (98-88, giving up 30 points to Patty Mills), Serbia by three (Nicola Jokic scored 25) and now Spain by six.

This is not 1992 Dream Team sort of stuff. Those are not blowouts; those are not even comfortable victories.

This is walking the high wire, and if one or two more things go wrong, the U.S. could be standing on a podium on Sunday listening to the Serbian national anthem and wearing silver medals.

Mike Krzyzewski must be praying that his mishmash of poorly fitting parts holds this together for one more game, so he can get out with this third gold and turn over this increasingly heavy burden to the next U.S. coach.

If you saw the women the night before, you saw the men.

Awful ball distribution. Selfishness. Forgotten fundamentals — poor blocking out under the boards, bad switching on screens, opposition shooters left with wide-open looks at the basket.

Actually, the Yanks might be getting ready for the bronze medal game had not Klay Thompson been useful for only the second time in seven games — going 4-for-8 from three-point range and 22 points, total. (He also saved them, against France, scoring 30 on 7-for-13 shooting from three. His other five games? 3-for-22 from three, 3.0 ppg. Ack.)

It was at Barcelona in 1992 that the NBA first appeared at an Olympics, and the Dream Team of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley destroyed all comers. I can remember the conversations, back then, about how long it would take the world to catch up to the Americans. “Twenty years” came up, now and then.

Granted, Argentina won the Athens 2004 gold, but that Larry Brown-coached team was poorly assembled and led. Neither Brown nor his players seemed to trust this LeBron James kid, and he rarely played. Kobe Bryant also was not there, because of the Colorado scandal. Brown did not bring enough three-point shooters with him, and his team was listless and defeatist, and they lost three games, including the semifinal to the Argentines.

Coach K seemed to fix things, by 2008, when Kobe led the way, and 2012, when it was LeBron’s team.

But this team has no natural leader, no one that players are afraid will rip them, like Kobe and LeBron. And it shows, as players go off on 25-dribble, one-on-five possessions or jack up a three or get lost in transition.

They are not very good and they certainly do not play together well.

To give you an idea of mixed signals … at one point in a close game, Coach K came off the bench with what appeared to be his “angry” face — and the BBC commentators described it as such as the U.S. took a timeout.

Actually, Krzyzewski  wanted to congratulate his guys. For what, it was not exactly clear. Perhaps running a tiny bit of whatever “offense” he had installed?

The U.S. should win. It ought to win. It has better players.

But the world has caught up. That “20 years” estimate from 1992? Close to being accurate, it would seem.

The Americans may win the gold, but this was no romp through the world, and Serbia represents one more big test — the kind of test Durant & Co. have been passing by ever thinner margins.