The last step before Euro 2022. Winners of their two matches in Pau in November, the Blues will travel to Montenegro in February for their last two matches as part of the qualifiers for the next European Championship, which will take place from the 1st until September 18, 2022 in Germany (Cologne and Berlin), Georgia (Tbilisi), Italy (Milan) and the Czech Republic (Prague).
Two matches in which they will face Montenegro on Saturday 20 and Great Britain on Monday 22. A victory in Podgorica and the Blues, currently leading Group G, will be officially qualified.
We take (almost) the same ...
It will be with a selection "very close" to the one we saw at work in Pau, without an NBA or Euroleague player of course.
"She had given satisfaction on the state of mind and on what she had produced," said Vincent Collet, who notably summoned Andrew Albicy, Yakuba Ouattara or Amath Mbaye in this group of 12 players unveiled this Friday.
We will also find Axel Julien, Isaïa Cordinier, Axel Bouteille, Lahaou Konaté, Alexandre Chassang, Mathias Lessort and Jerry Boutseiele in this list.
The 12 Blues selected for the last two qualifying matches at the @ EuroBasket 2022
, Saturday February 20
, Monday February 22 # TeamFranceBasketpic.twitter.com / sAuGXRxSMN
- French Basketball Teams ⛹️♂️⛹️♀️ (@FRABasketball) January 15, 2021
A new kid, the only novice of this selection, the Metropolitans 92 winger Maxime Roos.
“At the previous meeting we did not have the opportunity to see his progress which happened between the announcement of the selection and the start of qualifying,” says coach Collet.
Roos, 25, is averaging 7.6 points and 3.1 rebounds this season in Jeep Elite (9 matches) with Boulogne-Levallois.
Last but not least, Thomas Heurtel is on the list.
“An opportunity unfortunately linked to his difficulties with FC Barcelona,” explains Vincent Collet.
We jumped at the chance and I'm delighted that he can strengthen the team.
Gold medalist at Euro 2013 and bronze at the 2014 World Cup, Heurtel, 31, has defended the blue jersey 75 times.
His last match in the selection?
August 5, 2019 against Turkey, in preparation.
Six players mobilized in case of need
Jonathan Rousselle, Abdoulaye N'Doye, David Michineau, Nicolas Lang, Mouhammadou Jaiteh and Petr Cornelie including part of a “complementary list” which will allow the staff, “in case of injury, to quickly call on a player already mobilized”.
With Roos and Cornelie, Team France therefore has 49 players.
A complete group which will therefore aim to complete the work in Montenegro and which will fly to Podgorica on Monday, February 15, five days before its first match.
“Our first objective is to beat Montenegro to secure the qualification.
If that doesn't happen, playing Great Britain will be complicated.
It's a team that plays hard and in Pau it was diminished, ”warns Vincent Collet.
The Tricolores are warned.
The 12 players called up
:
Andrew Albicy (CB Gran Canaria), Julien Axel (Dijon), Thomas Heurtel (FC Barcelona), Isaïa Cordinier (Nanterre 92), Axel Bouteille (Malaga), Lahaou Konaté (Metropolitans 92), Yakoba Ouattar (Betis Seville), Maxime Roos (Metropolitans 92), Amath M'Baye (Pinar Karsiyaka SK), Alexandre Chassan (Dijon), Mathias Lessort (AS Monaco), Jerry Boutsielle (Limoges CSP).
The complementary list
: Jonathan Rousselle (Bilbao), Abdoulaye N'Doye (Monaco), David Michineau (Metropolitans 92), Nicolas Lang (Limoges), Mouhammadou Jaiteh (Gaziantep) and Petr Cornelie (Pau-Lacq-Orthez).
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