The French basketball team is fixed. The Olympic qualifying tournaments, which offered their winner the last tickets for the Olympics, delivered their verdict last night with the qualifications of Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy. And Vincent Collet and his staff can breathe!
It is neither Canada, nor Greece, nor Turkey that will be on the menu, but the Czech Republic, in addition to the two teams already known, the United States and Iran. We tell you all about these three opponents.
READ ALSO. A path to Tokyo strewn with thorns for France
The Scarecrow United States
France has known it since the draw, it will start its competition against the United States. What she was still waiting to know was the makeup of the American squad, and as expected, she will be much more competitive than she was at the 2019 World Cup, when the Blues had eliminated her in the quarter-finals.
The United States will be guided by Kevin Durant, just that, surrounded by an armada of All-Star: Devin Booker, Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Zach Lavine, Jayson Tatum to name a few… Clearly, it is the best team in the tournament in terms of talent, especially since they are coached by a living legend, Greg Popovich.
The Stars Have Aligned
Sights set on a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal at #Tokyo2020 ??
???? #USABMNT x @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/Xc7o7h98Lj
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) June 28, 2021
For France, it will mainly be a question of launching its tournament without taking a big spanking, insofar as the goal-average will be important in the new formula of the Games. Kevin Durant, he is on a mission: he wants to win a third gold medal after 2012 and 2016. The advantage of playing the favorite from the group stage, for France, is that it avoids it until ‘in the final, in case of qualification …
The American group
Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks), Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics).
Surprise Czech Republic
We knew the “Dédé cat” in football, she may have been reincarnated in favor of the staff of the French basketball team. The Blues will be opposed to the Czech Republic, while they could have fallen on Canada, Greece or Turkey. So, of course, this Czech team came out victorious from a TQO raised in Victoria (Canada), but it does not present the same guarantees or the same talent as the selections mentioned above and this is good news for the France team, which is now clearly the second favorite in the pool.
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Tomas Satoransky, here in the Chicago Bulls jersey, is the star of the Czech Republic © Getty Images via AFP
The Czech Republic is worn by Chicago Bulls point guard Tomas Satoransky, who was exceptional in TQO. It then relies on a well-crafted collective, without a real star, but with well-known players in France, like Blake Schilb, the 37-year-old veteran. “We are progressing from game to game. The lack of training and preparation influenced us a lot, but we believed in this group. We have a good balance, because we have known each other for a long time ”, Satoransky explained. Also note the presence of ex NBA player Jan Vesely, European champion with Fenerbahçe this season.
His team will participate for the first time in the Olympic Games, after having narrowly failed in 2016. Normally, an opponent within reach of the Blues.
Czech group
Tomas Satoransky (Chicago Bulls), Tomas Vyoral (Pardubice), Jakub Sirina (Opava), Ondrej Sehnal (Prague), Patrick Samoura (Prague), Lukas Palyza (Nymburk), Jaromir Bohacik (Strasbourg), Blake Schilb (Reims), Patrik Auda (Pistoia), Ondrej Balvin (Bilbao), Martin Peterka (Nymburk), Jan Vesely (Fenerbahçe).
Iran a step below
Vincent Collet is wary of Iran, he repeated it many times during press briefings around the Olympics. He’s in his role, but you can’t help but think that this team is the weakest of the bunch. Second in the 2017 Asian Championships, Iran was also present at the 2019 World Championship, without being able to get out of the pools.
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Hamed Haddadi, here at the 2019 World Cup, is the best-known face of the Iranian team. © AFP
Recently, this team was largely beaten by Spain in a friendly (88-61), Spain which can be described as a direct competitor of France. No panic, then. In the Iranian ranks, we find Hamed Haddadi, a 36-year-old pivot who has been in the NBA. For the rest, good basketball players, but nothing insurmountable for a serious and diligent France team.
Iranian group
Mohammadsina Vahedi, Pujan Jalalpour, Mohammad Hassazadeh, Saeid Davarpanah, Rouzbeh Arghavan, Mohammad Jamshidi, Mahammadsamad Bahrami, Hamed Haddadi, Navid Rezaeifar, Michaelil Rostampour, Aaron Geramipoor, Arsalan Naeini, Benham Yakhchali.
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