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France will look to continue their winning ways in the men's 2021 Olympic basketball tournament when they take on minnows Iran on Saturday, July 31st, in their final group stage match.
The French are coming off a 97-77 win over the Czech Republic and have secured a trip to the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Iran will be hoping to claim a consolation win after their 2021 Olympic campaign came to an end on Wednesday. They lost to the mighty USA 66-120 in their last game.
Match Details
Fixture - Iran vs France | Tokyo Olympics 2020 Basketball.
Date & Time - Saturday, July 31st 10:00 AM JST (Friday, July 30th, 9:00 PM ET).
Venue - Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.
Iran Preview
Iran delivered a promising performance against the Czechs in their opening game of the 2021 Olympics basketball tournament despite the defeat. However, they couldn't keep up the momentum against favorites in the USA, who were looking like the much better side as expected during their last match.
Team captain Hamed Haddadi and guard Mohammed Jamshidijafarabadi led the charge for the Iranians with 14 points each, while Navid Rezaeifar chipped in with 13 points. Iran shot only 25 of their 67 field goal attempts, including 9-of-26 from beyond the arc. They never got the chance to settle in the game, as the USA buried 19 threes, which made the difference right at the start of the match.
Facing France will be as tough as facing the USA, and Iran will be hoping they can at least put up a better fight compared to the way they played against the Americans.
Team News: Iran
Iran will likely play their strongest lineup for this game.
Mohammed Jamshidijafarabadi and Behnam Yakhchalidehkordi will start as guards, while Mohammadsamad Nik Khahbahrami and Arsalan Kazemi will be the two forwards. Hamed Haddadi will start as the center.
Meanwhile, Navid Rezaeifar and Saeid Davarpanah are expected to play key minutes off the bench.
Iran Predicted Lineup
Point Guard - Behnam Yakhchalidehkordi l Shooting Guard - Mohammed Jamshidijafarabadi l Small Forward - Mohammadsamad Nik Khahbahrami l Power Forward - Arsalan Kazemi l Center - Hamed Haddadi
France Preview
France have been excellent in their opening two games of the 2021 Olympics basketball tournament. They have played to their strengths, which has helped them gain positive outcomes.
Evan Fournier yet again had a terrific outing in France's last game, scoring 23 points on 8-of-13 field goal shooting. Meanwhile, Nando De Colo chipped in with 17 points and eight assists on the day for the French.
France relied on size against the Czechs, deploying two bigs at the same time during various stretches of the game.
It worked wonders for them as Vincent Poirier (14 points, five rebounds) and Rudy Gobert (six points, 10 rebounds) played a great game to help the side achieve a quarter-finals berth in the men's 2021 Olympics basketball tournament.
Also Check out: France Olympic Basketball Team 2021
France was in lethal shooting form once again, knocking down 55.9% of their field-goal attempts, including 43.1% from beyond the arc.
Team News: France
France will likely start their strongest lineup once again.
They could put minute restrictions on key players like Nando De Colo, Evan Fournier, Nicolas Batum and Rudy Gobert, though. That's because they have already qualified for the quarter-finals and would prefer to have the aforementioned players well rested for the knockout stages.
Meanwhile, Thomas Heurtel, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Vincent Poirier will likely play the most minutes off the bench.
France Predicted Lineup
Point Guard - Nando De Colo l Shooting Guard - Evan Fournier l Small Forward - Nicolas Batum l Power Forward - GuerschonYabusele l Center - Rudy Gobert.
Iran vs France Prediction
France will be the overwhelming favorites to win their game against Iran. They have been one of the best sides in the tournament and are great at making in-game adjustments. The French have better depth and more experience, which will be tough for the Iranians to handle.
Where to watch Iran vs France game?
Eurosport will have extensive coverage of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in Europe, as will Discovery +.
NBC will show Olympic coverage in the USA. The network will spread the Games across NBC, NBC Sports, NBC's Olympic Channel, CNBC, USA and the Golf Channel. NBC's Olympic website, NBC.com and the NBC app will also provide live updates of the game.
Also Check out: Olympic Basketball teams and Players
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