U19 WC Semis: France aim for first win over USA

DEBRECEN (Hungary) - Memories of the 2021 Final will pop up when France face United States in the Semi-Finals of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2023 as the Europeans look to beat USA for the first time in youth basketball history.  

France enter the Semi-Finals with just one loss as they struggled against Spain on the second day of action in Day 2. That came after France beat China and was followed by a win over Canada to finish group play. France have been very strong in the knockout stage as they routed Madagascar in the Round of 16 and then Serbia in the Quarter-Finals.

USA have looked vulnerable at times though they are undefeated coming into the matchup with France. They rolled past Madagascar to start Group B play but then trailed Slovenia by 11 points in the fourth quarter before eventually winning. USA ended the group by beating Lebanon and then struggled to finally pull away from China in the Round of 16. But they coasted past Japan in the Quarter-Finals.

France v USA - 17:30 CET

Key Matchup: Zacharie Perrin versus Tobe Awaka - two of the most productive big men in the tournament as the Frenchman Perrin is averaging 15.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game while Awaka is picking up 12.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per contest. If one of these two can limit the other, that will go a long way to helping their team win.

Zaccharie Risacher has yet to really leave his mark for France

X-Factor: Zaccharie Risacher came into the tournament as one of the best prospects but the French forward has yet to really leave his mark. After totaling just 17 points in the first three games - including just 2 points against Spain - Risacher appeared to break out against Madagascar in the Round 16 with 13 points. But Risacher did foul out after just 16 minutes. He contributed 9 points and 5 steals in France's win over Serbia in the Quarter-Finals. France will need him to show up in the Semi-Finals.

 

Stats Don't Lie: This game promises offenses as USA are tops in scoring at 106.4 points per game and France rank second at 89.8 points per game. Neither team waste possessions as USA commit a tournament-best 11.4 turnovers and France have the third-fewest with 13.6 turnovers per game. But both teams thrive on ball pressure - France ranking first in steals with 15.6 per game and USA fourth at 13.4. Whoever can force offensive miscues from the other team could hold the upper hand when it's all said and done.

Past matchups

 
USA and France have squared off in six U19 World Cup games and the Americans are undefeated. Most famous was the 2021 Final - an 83-81 thrilling win for USA against the Victor Wembanyama-led French.  USA won twice in 1995 - second group stage and 7th place game; twice in 2007 - second group stage and 78-75 in the Semi-Finals; and 2009 in the group stage. On top of that are two USA wins over France at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup. So France are hungry for the country's first youth win over the Americans.

Wemby against Chet in U19WC 2021's Final

They Said: "Everybody is playing their best if they are in the Semi-Finals. I just think they are a really high level team with high level players. But we also have high level players too. It's good being in competition with these guys. A lot of them have been playing together for a long time and they probably have more chemistry than us. That's fine. We need to find a way to dig deep and get the job done," USA forward Eric Dailey Jr.

"It's just another game, the Semi-Final. We obviously want to go to the Final. So we will prepare for it and play hard. Getting to play USA is good but I see them as just another team," France center Alexandre Sarr. 

 

FIBA