Basketball, Hand, Volley: 5 reasons to follow the penultimate day of the Olympic Games

Basketball, men's final: France-United States (4h30)

The XXL challenge.

The American stars have not digested the two consecutive defeats against the French (89-79 in the quarter-finals of the 2019 World Cup, before an 83-76 setback at the opening of the Olympic tournament).

Nicolas Batum, the captain author of the counter which catapulted the Blues to the Olympic final, is ready with Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and Cie to take up the XXL challenge represented by Team USA.

21 years after Sydney, the Blues want to believe in their star.

To discover

• The full Olympic program

• The Olympic medal table

Track cycling, Ladies individual speed (From 8:39 am)

Mathilde Gros crossed the first two laps of the individual sprint tournament on Friday. She will play the round of 16 on Saturday with the ambition to bounce back after leaving the keirin tournament in the quarter-finals, making tactical errors. But the 21-year-old tracker, world bronze medalist in 2019, remarkably remobilized to make a strong entry into speed, with 4th place in qualifying on Friday morning, in the excellent time of 10.400, a time she had already achieved in training on the velodrome of Saint-Quentin en Yvelines, but never in competition. Her fourth place allowed her to face less upscale opponents, Korean Hyejin Lee and Japanese Yuka Kobayashi, whom she eliminated quite easily. "I knew that Iwas in good shape, ”he said,“ it's been a long time since I was in the top 4 at the world level, and on Saturday I will have to not be afraid of anyone ”.

Baseball, men's final (12 p.m.)

The final that the discipline was waiting for.

Japan, which has never won Olympic gold, hopes to take advantage of the discipline's comeback to achieve it against the United States (gold medalists in Sydney, in 2000).

Handball, France-Denmark Men's Final (2:00 p.m.)

Has the hour of revenge sounded for France? Nikola Karabatic and his comrades will face defending Olympic champions Denmark in the final of the Tokyo Olympics, for a remake of that of five years ago in Rio. At the time, the Danes got the better of the Blues (26-28) and thus consolidated their status as the new maximus leader of the discipline, instead of the late Experts. A status still valid today, Mikkel Hansen and his band reciting their ranges since the start of the competition with a single defeat, without consequence, against Sweden (30-33). Like the French against the Norwegians (29-32). Note that this is the fourth Olympic final in a row for the Blues,and that this could allow the trio Nikola Karabatic-Michaël Guigou-Luc Abalo to win their third title.

Volleyball, men's final (2:15 p.m.)

Volleyball after seeing basketball (silver in Sydney in 2000) and handball (4th consecutive final) dreamed of being able to reach an Olympic final in turn. For the last of the coach Laurent Tillie (in post since 2012), Earvin Ngapeth and his teammates will play this long awaited final. Against Russia. Opposition of styles for opponents who know each other perfectly and have crossed paths in hens. The Blues had won. And relaunched. Obviously a great time.