Basketball World Cup: France-Canada, a (big) entry shock for the Blues

The Blues were not really spoiled in the draw. Bronze medalists at the 2019 World Cup, they will have to fight hard to achieve a comparable result in 2023, they who challenge Canada to enter this Friday (3:30 p.m., on beIN SPORTS), at the Indonesia Arena in Jakarta (16,500 places), in order to launch their tournament. Why be wary of a team with no recent reference at international level, which has never done better than a sixth place at the World Cup (1978, 1982) and only appears in 15th place in the Fiba rankings? Just look at the roster, led by NBAers RJ Barrett (New York) and Dillon Brooks (Houston), and especially Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City), named in the five All-NBA at the end of the past season. Admittedly, Denver's NBA champion Jamal Murray is not in the game, but Spanish coach Fernandez Torres has plenty to do, that's clear. “It's a big big chunk. On paper it is a team that is also a candidate for the podium, ”warns coach Vincent Collet.

There is talent at all levels within this “made in NBA” team while the Blues have the strongest contingent of players playing in the Euroleague on the plateau. “We are going to play against an NBA team, whereas we had this NBA label before. It will be like facing a mirror of what we were a few years ago, ”laughs Jacques Monclar. And the beIN SPORTS consultant added: "We start with very heavy... They are so physically intense these Canadians... He is a candidate for the podium. We have an infernal draw, ”he continues, knowing well that if the Blues come out of their first pool (Canada, Latvia, Lebanon), they will cross paths with the two winners of group G, potentially Spain and Brazil. All before potentially struggling with Slovenia, Australia or Germany in the quarters! “When we look at the composition of the groups, between the first part of the table and ours, the difference is incredible… We wonder how it is possible with a draw! Sometimes, when you have a difficult chicken at the beginning, it calms down afterwards. This will not be the case, plague coach Collet.

When he's not storming about the draw, the national coach keeps busy making statistics. “I had fun listing the point averages of the seven NBA players who have a lot of playing time for this Canadian team. They represent 105 points per game in the NBA. Apart from Team USA, we have never played a team with so many individuals of this level”, he slips, he who is not convinced by the received idea that Canada does not have a collective worthy of the name. “People who say that haven't really checked. They hope so. U.S. too. But that's not what you see when you watch the matches... Above all, you have to be prepared for very tough opposition. Their victory in Spain is there to demonstrate it. This is a team that will continue to improve. In any case, it has in any case not much to do with the one who missed the qualification for the TQO which she organized at home, ”recalls the 60-year-old Norman technician. The last time Les Bleus faced Canada was in another Olympic Qualifying Tournament in 2016, with an 83-74 win in Manila that sent them to the Rio Olympics.

And Collet continued: “This team has improved. It is a program that will progress over the years. The players are relatively young. They have ambitions, if not for this year, at least for the Paris Olympics next year. We will try to ensure that their collective is not up to their individualities. But we will have to be ready and efficient”. Rather twice than once. “The starting five and the rotations are very strong. It's an impressive roster and it will be a great first battle. We have already known it before, it does not necessarily scare us, but we will have to be ready to attack, ”confirms Clippers winger Nicolas Batum, who will want to circumvent the Latvian “trap” in the second game (August 27) and "avoid bringing up bad memories" against Lebanon (August 29), who beat France in the 2006 world championship.

“If we want to approach the second round in the best conditions, we will have to be focused and show that we are a team that has won three medals in a row (World, Olympics and Euro), a team that counts and that knows what it has to do in these moments, ”adds the captain of the France team, his coach recalling in passing that this match against Canada is, of course, very important, but not decisive. “Canada is not our tournament. Even if you start badly, you can still qualify by winning the following matches. You have to be prepared for a very tough competition. Conversely, if we beat Canada, Latvia will not be a cakewalk,” he warns.

Fans of the France team would probably prefer the second option, in order to avoid getting scared in this terrible part of the table: there will only be room for two teams in the quarters between France, Canada and the Spanish defending champions, even Brazil, which does not arrive as an expiatory victim in this competition. “Canada is a team that seeks to reveal itself, it has become a real team compared to two years ago. We feel that they want to prove and show things, they didn't just come for a little tour. They want to move up the hierarchy. They are somewhat in our situation a few years ago. We know that we will have to be present immediately to bring them to their senses”, summarizes Collet, who wants to “move the match to a field which is as favorable as possible (to the France team), and not the help them play their game. The kind of thing that will be possible with a great collective defense. That's good, it's the trademark of the Blues.