France vs Venezuela Basketball Preview: Prediction, rosters and more for FIBA World Cup 2023 tune-ups

France and Venezuela, two teams that are deep into their 2023 FIBA World Cup preparations, will have a tune-up game on Aug. 7. Basketball fans can catch the action in the French city of Orleans at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

The French are considered one of the heavy favorites to win the tournament. They have already completed two tune-up games and were largely unscratched. Les Bleus walloped Tunisia 93-36 before struggling a little against Montenegro 80-69.

The Venezuelans, on the other hand, have had a rough start to their preparations. They are winless in three games, having lost to Angola 66-61 and a thriller to Argentina 66-65. Venezuela’s last game was a beatdown, though, at the hands of Spain, another title favorite.

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Game preview

France coach Vincent Collet wasn’t impressed with his team’s latest preparation game for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Although they won 80-69, the veteran mentor didn’t look too happy with their overall performance.

Rudy Gobert asserted his height and heft to finish with 16 points and nine rebounds. The “Stifle Tower” also hit his first career three-pointer, which caused bedlam on the bench. Evan Fournier and Nando De Colo were also huge for the team.

The French have huge advantages on both ends of the floor. They have one of the deepest and most complete lineups that will compete in the FIBA World Cup. Once they regain their usual chemistry, they should be tough to deal with again.

Venezuela didn’t look like they belonged on the same floor against the Spaniards last Aug. 4. Michael Carrera and Garly Sojo started hot, which kept them in the game early on.

Once they struggled with their shots, they also seemed to lose their composure. They had too many unforced errors, something which is a death sentence against the No. 1 ranked team heading into the FIBA World Cup.

The South Americans have to do a better job of executing on both ends of the floor as they can’t afford to let their heads down if their shots don’t fall. France may not be as strong as Spain on paper but they’re in danger of another beatdown if they can’t put on a better performance.

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France vs. Venezuela prediction

The French have the talent, experience, size and skills to overwhelm most opponents, including a game-but-limited Venezuelan side. Even in the absence of the San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama, France is heavily-favored to win.

The final score will not necessarily matter as both teams look to execute their plays and develop a rhythm. Even if France fields mostly their second stringers, they should have little trouble keeping their pre-FIBA World Cup preparations spotless.

France Lineup

• Sylvain Francisco
• Nando de Colo
• Frank Ntilikina
• Elie Okobo
• Evan Fournier
• Yakuba Ouattara
• Terry Tarpey
• Nicolas Batum
• Guerschon Yabusele
• Mathias Lessort
• Moustapha Fall
• Rudy Gobert

Venezuela Lineup

• Michael Carrera
• Nestor Colmenares
• Garly Sojo
• Windi Graterol
• David Cubillan
• Jhornan Zamora
• Gregory Vargas
• Edgar Martinez
• Harol Cazorla
• Heissler Guillent
• Jose Ascanio
• Pedro Chourio
• Fabrizio Pugliatti
• Enrique Medina