By Antonis Stroggylakis / astroggylakis@eurohoops.net
Jakarta, Indonesia – France forward Guerschon Yabusele believes that the blowout loss of Les Bleus to Canada in the 2023 World Cup opener will further spur other national teams into being extra confident that they can beat his own.
“We’re going to feel pressure against any team we play because we’re going to be the team that everybody wants to beat now,” Yabusele told reporters after Saturday’s (26/8) practice ahead of the match vs. Latvia. “After that first game, everyone feels that they have a chance to beat us.”
“Of course now, our backs are against the wall,” Yabusele added. The Real Madrid player refers to the upcoming tomorrow’s clash with Latvia that can be decisive for the future of France in the World Championship.
France will drop to 0-2 with a potential defeat and will fall way behind its rivals for a spot in the knockout stage since the results from the first phase are carried into the second.
“We looked at the things that went wrong,” France swingman Evan Fournier said. “How to improve. Talked about Latvia obviously. It’s time to get ready. It sucks to lose like that but it’s not the end of the world. We can still bounce back.”
Yabusele agreed that the game vs. Canada can provide a valuable learning experience that France can use in the long run during the World Cup. “Of course there are a lot of things to learn,” he said. “The way we came into the game. The first quarter was good and then we entered the second half with less intensity. We let them play and do their stuff. Defense, offense, we all saw what went wrong in the video. It was the first game, we learn from it and come back better.”
Latvia is a fluid offensive team that can particular damage from afar. In their 109 – 70 against Lebanon, they had 18-35 triples.
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“Then we will adjust for sure,” Yabusele said when asked what the strategy will be if Latvia begins raining 3-pointers on them. “We will discuss about it. We know how they play and we want to take away their threes and their fast game.”
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