A nice surprise entry. The French women’s basketball team brought down Australia at home (70-57), with style, to successfully enter the World Cup on Thursday in Sydney. A surprise as they are handicapped by the absence of many major players, due to injuries. 50% of the bronze medalist squad at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo is absent, including Johannès, Sandrine Gruda, Endy Miyem, Olivier Epoupa, Alix Duchet and, for personal reasons, Valériane Vukosavljevic.
A good omen for the quarter-finals
The Bleues assured it, even after the package announced Tuesday of their best offensive weapon, Marine Johannes: they would look the “Opals” eye to eye and feel capable of beating anyone.
They kept their word, carried by an aggressive defense, the capital performance of Gabby Williams (23 pts, his record in selection) and helped by the clumsiness of Australia, who had beaten them Friday in preparation (92-88). Jean-Aimé Toupane’s players are thus already in place for qualification for the quarter-finals, which could be almost in the pocket in the event of another success on Friday against Canada (6 p.m.).