No worries for the Blues? The 2023 World Cup draw took place this Saturday in Manila, the Indonesian capital. 32 teams on the starting line for this 2023 edition which will be played in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines from August 25 to September 10, 2023. First info: the European vice-champions will play their first round in Jakarta. In Group H, they will challenge Canada, Latvia and Lebanon. They will be favorites to come out on top of this pool, but beware of overconfidence. Canada is the 15th nation in the Fiba ranking. Led by Nick Nurse, the ex-coach of Toronto, they will rely on a base of NBA players. Mistrust. The Blues had won the TQO of Manila during the last confrontation (83-74), in 2016. 29th in the Fiba ranking, the Latvians are well known for their long distance address. Lebanon, 43rd in Fiba, beat France at the 2006 World Cup (74-73).
In the other groups, it should be noted that Team USA, four-time defending champion, will face Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece in Group C. A shock in sight against Brazil for the Spanish European champions, who will evolve like the Blues on the side of Jakarta, in Group G. Fair draw for Slovenia in Group F.
Note that the Blues will be expected on July 28 in Pau to start their campaign. They will then face Tunisia (31 July in Pau), Montenegro (2 August, Montpellier), Venezuela, Lithuania (7 and 9 August, Orléans), Japan and Australia (17 and 20 August, Japan) before to reach the site of their first round. It remains to be seen which players will be available to coach Collet, knowing that Rudy Gobert has already expressed his doubts and that the suspense is total concerning Joel Embiid. The 19-year-old phenomenon Victor Wembanyama has already announced his wish to participate in the 2023 World Cup. To see if his future NBA franchise will hear it that way too…
World Cup Groups: Group A: Angola, Dominican Republic, Philippines, ItalyGroup B: South Sudan, Serbia, China, Puerto RicoGroup C: United States, Jordan, Greece, New ZealandGroup D: Egypt, Mexico, Montenegro, LithuaniaGroup E: Germany, Finland, Australia, JapanGroup F: Slovenia, Cape Verde, Georgia, VenezuelaGroup G: Iran, Spain, Ivory Coast, BrazilGroup H: Canada, Latvia, Lebanon, France.
