DIRECT. France – United States: the Blues in the hard

• The Blues face the American scarecrow this Wednesday in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
• A victory over the Americans would qualify France for the Olympics if Australia wins against the Czech Republic later in the day.
• Even without its biggest stars, the United States can count on some NBA figures like Kemba Walker or Khris Middleton.

>> Follow the match between France and the United States live

31 '(72-65). The Blues lose the wire. The rebounds are more and more often to the advantage of their opponents. Barnes, Middleton and Walker take the lead.

31 '(66-63). The mistakes accumulate for the Blues. The Americans push successively De Colo then Albeyrie to the fault. Fortunately, Smart is not the most adept at free throws.

30'. End of this third quarter. The Americans crushed this third act (27-18) and took control. Infuriating.

29 '(66-63). Mitchell, this phenomenon. What a Utah player's performance. He still finds the way to the three-point basket and gives his team three steps ahead. Vincent Collet is furious on his bench.

28 '(60-60). Mitchell's dunk! And that's it, the Americans are coming back up. And in what way: an interception of Smart on Labeyrie followed by a dunk rage of Donovan Mitchell. The young American is already 26 points!

26 '(57-54). A little apathy in defense. After a first complicated attempt, Mitchell inherits the rebound without much effort. The Blues must recover their defensive strength if they do not want to see the Americans come back too close.

24 '(55-49). The three-point alarm clock In a breakdown of address behind the arc of the circle, the Americans settle the target. Mitchell and Middleton bring their team back to -6.

22 '(53-43). Americans at fault. Team USA is committing far too many mistakes for the moment (14 since the start of the match). In attack, Jaylen Brown is trapped in the walk. Everything is going well for the moment. As long as it lasts.

21 '(51-41). The 3 + 1 for Batum! What action by Nicolas Batum. In addition to planting three points, it causes the fault of Joe Harris and is not lacking to top off this four-point action. +10 for the Blues!

20 '(45-39). Another twenty minutes to hold. The French will try to maintain the quality of play that was theirs in the first period. We will see if Popovich found the words in the locker room to get a jump of his players.

20 '(45-39). It's half-time. Worn by Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier in great shape, Vincent Collet's players pose a great challenge to the Americans in defense. Strong point of this first period in attack? The three-point address (45% versus 27% for the United States).

19 (41-37). The big job of Gobert. He is the author of a very solid first period. In addition to causing many fouls and forcing Popovich to send Turner on the bench, he recovered to the free throws after his first failure.

19 (39-33). Fournier breaks out at three points. Another shoot taken by the Frenchman. That's 3 out of 4 in this exercise for him.

17 (36-33). France takes (temporarily) off. Two new free throws from Gobert and the Blues are seven points ahead. Mitchell and Brown reduce the gap a little bit.

17 (34-29). Fournier leads the dance. After a new three-point shot, the leader of the Magic is the best scorer of the match on the French side for the moment with 10 points. Opposite, it is Donovan Mitchell who most often made the powder speak (9 points).

16 (31-29). Gobert makes his law under the basket. The French pivot of Jazz wins twice in a row the offensive rebound. It is already three takes in the American racket.

14 (27-29). The United States returns to free throws. Jaylen Brown and Donovan Mitchell appear behind the line. After snatching the ball, Mitchell gives the advantage with an easy lay-up.

12 (27-22). The French also know how to shoot from a distance. Nando de Colo adds three points to very, very long distance. Andrew Albicy imitates a few moments later. + 5 is the biggest gap in favor of the Blues since the beginning of the meeting.

10 (18-18). End of the first quarter. A rather positive start for the team of Vincent Collet, who sticks to the basques of his opponents.

9 (18-18). France is tightening ranks. The Blues are serious and do not seem at all impressed. Their defense holds for the moment the blow, as evidenced by the advantage gained in the rebound.

7 (14-16). The skilled Americans by far. Third basket with three points for Team USA. He is this time signed Marcus Smart.

6 (12-8). Ntilikina and Albicy open their counter. The French dig a small gap by demonstrating great aggression including interception of Albicy.

6 (8-8). France recollects with Gobert. The French pivot causes the fault of Turner, who joined the bench. Gobert does not loupe behind the line of free throws.

4 (6-8). Harris takes over. The Americans take the lead again with a new long distance shoot, this time taken by Joe Harris. The success flees the Blues a little shooting for the moment.

2 (5-5). Fournier-Mitchell, the duel. The young Utah Jazz player scores the top five American points. Evan Fournier answers him behind the three-point line.

1 (2-0). The first basket for Fournier. The French leader opens hostilities with a shot back. Donovan Mitchell is against

0 '. Let's go ! At the engagement, Turner wins his first duel against Gobert.

12:57. On the floor, to start. Ntilikina, Fournier, Batum, M'Baye and Gobert will start the meeting. Opposite, Popovich aligns Walker, Mitchell, Barnes, Harris and Turner.

12:53. The entrance of the artists. The Dongguan Hall is plunged into darkness for the entry of the players. Honor to the French, followed by their American opponents.

12:48. Australia, a reason to hope. While they had not lost a single game in 13 years with an NBA squad, the Americans lost a match in Australia two weeks ago (98-94). A precedent to relativize given that it was a meeting preparation.

12:42. A wait of 33 years. The French team has not won a match against an American team since 1986. But it was in Paris, in a friendly match. Since 1948, in official competition, the Blues have had nine losses in nine games.

12:35. The Olympics, the other issue of the day. Beyond a qualification in the semifinals of the World Cup, a victory against the squad of Gregg Popovich would allow the French to take a big step towards the Tokyo Olympics. At the same time, the Czech Republic should not prevail against Australia.

24:30. A feat for France? Vincent Collet's players are outsiders against the United States. The American team may be deprived of many stars who preferred to pass their turn for this World Cup, a victory today in Dongguan (China) would enter the history of basketball tricolor.