ROUEN (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - France will host Bosnia and Herzegovina in a battle of 1-0 teams on Monday in Rouen, the capital of the northern French region of Normandy.

France will be looking to start the game with the sort of defensive intensity that allowed them to claw back a 13-point half-time deficit in Antwerp in Friday's 70-59 victory.

"We were in trouble in the first half," France coach Vincent Collet said. "A lot of my players were stressed about the importance of the game. They wanted to do good but they were under stress and it's very difficult to play basketball in this (mental) condition."

"We changed our defensive rhythm and were much more aggressive. And offensively we started to play better." 

Edwin Jackson, who has prior national team experience with France, said the win was a good sign for the country's World Cup Qualifiers campaign.

"We stayed together, made stops and played unselfishly in the second half and came out with a win," he said. "The spirit of the team is very good."

Bosnia and Herzegovina had to make it through the European Pre-Qualifiers and probably started as the Group E underdogs. They have already revealed themselves to be tough customers after an opening 81-56 victory at home over Russia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina didn't make it to EuroBasket 2017 as France did, yet they did play in the tournament two years ago and took on the Les Bleus in the Group Phase in Montpellier. Five members of that Bosnia and Herzegovina team that lost to France are in the current edition. 

Key Matchups: All eyes in Rouen will be on one of the most talented 18-year-olds in international basketball, Dzanan Musa. The small forward did not disappoint on Friday against Russia, scoring 18 points and corralling 7 rebounds. Look for a collective defensive effort to try to limit his contributions with captain Boris Diaw and the pesky Paul Lacombe among those who will track the youngster.

Key Stats: How disruptive were France defensively in the third quarter against Belgium on Friday? They limited Eddy Casteels' team to just 8 points. Point guard Axel Julien came up with 3 of France's 8 steals. Musa constantly puts defenses under pressure, which was evident by his 15 attempts at the free-throw line against Russia.

FIBA