“Broken”: France broke against Canada

A fight between Canada and France is certain.
IMAGO/PanoramaC

It’s the final day of the first World Cup tournament in the Far East: Canada and France face off in Group H. In the end, the Canadians won by an unexpectedly clear margin – more than 30 points.

France, the vice European champions, played well and even won the first quarter-final. Then came Canada — the highlight of the fourth period, in which Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and Co. scored eight points. Ivan Fournier (21 points) and Matthias Lessort (12 points, six rebounds) still stood out, but in general the 2024 Olympic host was tired and by no means well-rehearsed, with 17 turnovers and 20 points.

“It was a scary game for us. We were good after the first half,” said France’s legendary coach Vincent Collet (60). But then “we lost our team game and completely fell apart in the last 15 minutes.”

Research into the cause is now the order of the day, and France must advance to the second round in their second group game against Latvia on Sunday. “We have to be optimistic,” warned Fournier. “We lost by 30 points, but we’re a better team.”

On the other hand, the Canadians underlined their ambitions, thanks to a brilliant Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who alone scored 27 points, but also grabbed 13 rebounds – and remained without a basket after the first quarter. In the end, Canada, who tested Germany twice (86:81; 113:112), took the lead with 34 points. “We still have a lot to accomplish,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, “but it was a good start.”