BERLIN (Germany) - France are already in uncharted territory. Les Bleues had never reached the World Cup Final before. But this team and their captain Gabby Williams have been very clear from Day 1. They want to take the crown.
They already wanted it at home at Paris 2024. But USA came out on top, thanks to smallest margin,
Tomorrow, they have another shot at the throne.
We will play hard and see what happens
"We have nothing to lose we know they are a great team and have won every World Cup for years", said Marine Johannes after the game in the Press Conference when she was ask about a potential final against USA.
"They are talented and we all know that. We are playing against these players all season in the WNBA and we know how good they are. It's one game and we will play hard and see what happens."
Marine Johannes took a few moments to enjoy the performance against Germany.
"I am proud of the team. It was a fight and I think that we were ready for that. I think everyone had a great game and we stayed together. We knew the fans would be against us and we played as a team again tonight. Everyone is playing great and we are being aggressive on both sides of the court. This is something huge."
"Yeah this is a huge win for the country," added Dominique Malonga, who had 6 points and 4 rebounds in the Semi-Finals win. "We're really proud of that.
But we know what we want to get. It's not over yet
"I mean, we're really happy and proud, but we know what we want to get, it's not over yet and that's why we're not super, super emotional right now. We want to stay focused on our greater goals."
"I'm so happy to be in the Final, but like I said, we still have one more game. We really want the trophy," said Pauline Astier.
"So we're going to rest tonight and be ready for tomorrow."
France will remember for a long time this World Cup Semi-Final against a home crowd boosted by a full Arena.
"It was something great and everyone wants to play in this kind of game", acknowledged Marine Johannes. "It is never easy when an arena is against you, but it is just great for women's basketball in general. It is something special and playing in this game is interesting for every player. I am really happy for women's basketball."
FIBA