The ghosts Nando De Colo and Nicolas Batum, as well as Rudy Gobert, appear in the list unveiled Wednesday for the 2023 Basketball World Cup by the coach of the Blues Vincent Collet, unlike the Franco-Cameroonian pivot Joel Embiid and the new star Victor Wembanyama.
Nando De Colo and Nicolas Batum had given up on Euro 2022 to spare themselves, a reason which prompted Gobert to hesitate to participate in the 2023 World Cup (August 25-September 10 in Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan) before confirming his presence .
Wembanyama? We tried but there’s a lot of stakes around him
Wembanyama had announced to him on Monday that he was giving up to focus on his first NBA season to come while Embiid (Philadelphia Sixers) is courted by the French Federation.
“Wembanyama? We tried but there are a lot of issues around him, explains Vincent Collet, the coach of the France team, on the set of All Sports on France 3. He has entered a new life, there are fears in relation to the sequence of the season this year, the competition this summer and next season.
The French technician has unveiled a list of twelve names which also includes interior Mathias Lessort, who is coming off a brilliant Euroleague season with Partizan Belgrade (he has since signed for Panathinaikos). Real Madrid pivot Vincent Poirier was not selected.
Francisco and Ouattara present
Among the back lines, the surprises are, as leader, Sylvain Francisco (Peristeri, in Greece), preferred to Andrew Albicy or Killian Hayes, and as winger, Yakuba Ouattara, captain of Monaco, recent champion of France .
The France team, bronze medalists at the 2019 World Cup in China, was placed in group H with Canada, Latvia and Lebanon. She will play her first round and the second in the event of qualification in Jakarta (Indonesia), before possibly taking the direction of Pasay City (Philippines) for the quarter-finals and the rest of the competition.
The list of 12 Blues selected by Vincent Collet
Guards-backs: Nando De Colo (Asvel), Frank Ntilikina (Dallas Mavericks/USA), Sylvain Francisco (Peristeri/GRE), Elijah Okobo (Monaco)
Wingers: Evan Fournier (New York Knicks/USA), Jacob Ouattara (Monaco), Nicolas Batum (Los Angeles Clippers/USA), Terry Tarpey (Monaco)
Interiors: Guershon Yabusele (Real Madrid/ESP), Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves/USA), Moustapha Fall (Olympiacos/GRE), Mathias Lessort (Panathinaikos/GRE)
