More than three months after its heroic final at the Paris Olympic Games, ultimately lost against the United States, the French basketball team is back. Engaged in EuroBasket 2025 qualifying, the Blues face Cyprus in a double confrontation, with the first leg this Thursday. An opponent well within their reach and currently last in the group, after being corrected by Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.
A lot has changed for France since the Games, starting with the coach. Having the difficult task of succeeding Vincent Collet, who had held the position for 15 years, Frédéric Fauthoux had to innovate for his first list, by doing without the players involved in the NBA and the Euroleague. The only silver medalist eligible for selection, Andrew Albicy was obviously called up. He will have the difficult task of supporting the first steps of Brice Dessert, Adam Mokoka, Jean-Marc Pansa, Noa Essengue and Nolan Traoré, who do not have any capes. The latter two, aged 17 and 18 respectively, are expected to be high in the next NBA draft.
“The objective is above all to win the two matches, but also to see players who we could use in the future” underlines Fauthoux, for whom Traoré and Essengue “are not going to play their careers on Sunday”.
The Cyprus-France kick-off is scheduled for Thursday, November 21, at 6 p.m. The match will be watched live for free on DAZN.
