They are two games ahead of both Hungary and their Friday hosts, Montenegro, who have each won two of their first four group games.
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Despite a heroic effort by Portugal, France completed the Portuguese double to advance to a perfect 4-0 record in Group E, becoming the first team in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers to clinch a berth in the Second Round. After defeating Portugal by 38 points in France, Les Bleus encountered a very different situation abroad. The French had to perform some heroics in the fourth quarter to get the score to 69-56.
After the first game, Portuguese players and coaching staff discussed France’s toughness; as a result, they matched it on Sunday, causing the Olympic Finalists to commit an appalling 27 turnovers. Portugal committed 26 turnovers of their own, resulting in a five-point victory for France in the points caused by the turnovers category. It was time for a new offensive star to emerge after the French defense got going and limited the opposition to only 8 points in the third period. Whereas France has already secured a place out of Group E for the second qualifying round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which will be held next August and September, with the completion of two-thirds of the first group stage. With a perfect 4-0 record in Group E and an average victory margin of over 20.3 points per game, the French are ready to play on Friday. They are two games ahead of both Hungary and their Friday hosts, Montenegro, who have each won two of their first four group games.
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It’s important to remember that Montenegro gave their heavily-favored hosts a major scare in their previous meeting, the first of this group stage, in Pau (southwest France, close to the borders with Andorra and Spain), leading by seven points after three-quarters before losing 73-67 after a brutal fourth quarter. Look for Montenegro to be at least somewhat competitive (on home turf and with more on the line than France) on Friday night. In the final Window, Portugal and France will both play Hungary and Montenegro. Since the results of the First Round are carried over to the Second Round, both of them still depend on themselves and will aim for a 2-0 record.
The exciting match will be held on July 4, 2:30 PM EST and July 5, 12:00 AM IST. The Audience from the US can stream on popular channels like ESPN, whereas Indians can log in to Fancode.com.
Hungary: Zoltan, Janos, Benedek, Rosco, David
France: Vincent, Isaia, Mathias, Theo, Axel
