FIBA World Cup

Canada vs France: Time, live stream and prediction – FIBA World Cup 2023

August 25, 2023 1:26 am

The  FIBA World Cup is about to start and two of the main contenders for the medals Canada and France meet in a mouthwatering day 1 action. Both teams have reasons to feel confident and yet only one of them will start with a win.

Canada vs France basketball predictions

With both teams filled with NBA talent, there is no doubt that a close and entertaining battle will transpire. Can France’s size and advantage in the paint prevail over Canada’s perimeter stars? Here are our Canada vs France basketball predictions.

Prediction 1: France over 83.5 total points @ 4/5 (1.80)

France come into the tournament as one of the main favourites for the medals. The French have plenty of firepower in their ranks despite both Embiid and Wembanyama opting to miss the tournament. France scored at least 84 points in 4 of their last 6 warmup games.

Also, Canada failed to contain the French in any of their previous 3 FIBA World Cup meetings. Not only France won all 3 of those contests but they also scored more than 84 points in each of those wins.

Prediction 2: Nando de Colo over 4.5 assists @ 5/6 (1.83)

canada vs france prediction
(Photo by Daniel Derajinski/Icon Sport)

Our second Canada vs France prediction backs France’s main point guard Nando de Colo to record at least 5 assists. De Colo is well known as one of the best players outside the NBA. His ability to find teammates has made him a legend across Europe.

With Batum set to be a spot shooter in the corners and De Colo’s great partnership with Gobert, we can see the classy point guard easily covering his assists spread. De Colo averages 6.2 assists per game over his last 10 games for France. He also averaged 5.4 assists during the last World Cup.

Canada vs France preview – Can the fans make the difference?

Now let’s look at the latest Canada vs France team news.

Canada news, injuries, and starting lineups

Canada basket scaled
Photo: Daniel Reinhardt/dpa – Photo by Icon sport

Canada were the best team in North America during the qualifiers where they won 11 out of 12 games. The Canadians are yet to achieve anything major in big tournaments though. They are yet to prove themselves on the big stage.

Their main start of this World Cup will be the debutant Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Together with his teammate at OKC Thunder Dort, he is expected to generate the main volume of points. Canada will be missing arguably their best player Jamal Murray and without him SGA will have to do a lot more scoring.

Canada injury report:

  • No injuries to report ahead of the game and everyone in the 12-man roster seems to be in good health.

Canada starting lineup:

Dwight Powell, Kely Olynyk, Zach Edey, Luguentz Dort & Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

France news, injuries, and starting lineups

France warmed up for this tournament with consecutive wins over Spain, Germany and New Zealand. However, in their last test before the tournament, they lost 74-78 vs Australia.

The French reached the semifinals in the last 2 World Cups. They claimed the bronze back in 2019. They also played in the Euro 2022 final where a defeat vs Spain was suffered.

With the newest Real Madrid recruit Yabusele eager to shine and surrounded by 4 experienced players, 3 of which proven NBA stars, the French starting 5 look ready to matchup against anyone. The big question will how productive the bench would be.

France injury report:

  • No injuries to report ahead of the game and everyone in the 12-man roster seems to be in good health.

France’s starting lineup:

Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, Guerschon Yabusele, Evan Fournier & Nando de Colo

Canada vs France head-to-head matchups

France have won all of the 3 previous clashes between the sides at World Cups. The French also triumphed in 2010, 2011, and 2016 in official matches. Canada’s only wins in this contest have been in two friendly matches in 2010.

Canada vs France where to watch on TV/live stream

The only way to watch any match at the FIBA World Cup in the UK is via the streaming service FIBA Courtside 1891. Meanwhile, the USA and Australia will both broadcast the tournament on their respective ESPN channels.

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