Among the opponents of the French team during the group stages of the Paris Olympic Games, Germany presents itself as the biggest obstacle for Vincent Collet’s men. His counterpart Gordon Herbert also announced the color.
Only a few months left before the 2024 Olympics, an event with immense stakes for the French team.
Equipped with a quality roster, they want to win the gold medal at home and outsmart the other favorites, including obviously Team USA.
Before that, however, we will have to survive the group stages when the Tricolores will find themselves facing Germany in particular:
The stage is set 🔥
Here's how the Men’s Olympic Basketball groups look for #Paris2024 👀 pic.twitter.com/MFX5ylqtEe
— FIBA (@FIBA)
March 19, 2024
Gordon Herbert cautious but ambitious for the 2024 Olympics
As a reminder, the Mannschaft is currently the reigning world champion after having notably beaten the USA and Serbia during the tournament in Asia last summer.
Suffice to say that she will arrive in France with a fairly clear favorite status, but coach Gordon Herbert does not want to put the cart before the horse either, as he recently explained in an interview with MagentaSport
We are in the second hardest group. It’s going to be interesting because you never know who will qualify (for the TQO, editor’s note).
After gold at the last World Cup as well as a bronze medal at Eurobasket 2022 (including a victory against the Blues at the start of the tournament), the Canadian still has big ambitions:
I said in September 2021 that our goal was to win three medals over the next three summers.
We are on the right track, we still have one summer to get there.
I’ve asked the players to keep this commitment for three years and so far they’ve done a fantastic job. (…) We cannot already be satisfied, we must build on what we accomplished last summer and move forward.
It’s difficult to get any clearer from the tactician, who can still count on a high-level squad.
Dennis Schröder, the Wagner brothers, Daniel Theis and even Andreas Obst and Johannes Voigtmann should all be on the trip to the French capital.
Between their success a few months ago and the already existing chemistry within the German group, the latter has what it takes to do big damage in July.
Germany will have a lot of pressure on its shoulders since it will have to justify its status as world champion during the Paris Olympics, but Gordon Herbert intends to collect a third medal in as many years.
And if possible, make it the same color as last summer! The Blues have been warned.