France came to the World Cup planning to win gold. It won’t even make the second round, a stunning development for the reigning Olympic silver medalists.
Latvia got 22 points from Arturs Zagars and shocked France 88-86 on Sunday night in a Group H game in Jakarta, Indonesia. The result sent Latvia and Canada through to the second round and meant France, which won the bronze at the past two World Cups, cannot finish better than 17th place this year.
“We let a lot of people down, ourselves first,” French forward Nicolas Batum said.
France — a medal favorite in the eyes of many entering this World Cup and the No. 5-ranked team in the world according to FIBA — suffered a massive embarrassment for a team that will consider itself a gold-medal favorite when it hosts the Paris Olympics in 11 months.
“When you lose in the semis or quarterfinals, it’s different. I mean, at least you compete,” Batum said. “We didn’t even get past the first round. We have high expectations. I’m ashamed.”
France put itself into trouble by falling to Canada 95-65 on Friday in its opening contest. It was the most lopsided loss by France’s senior men’s team in a major competition, according to FIBA, since 1987.
“It’s very hard,” said Evan Fournier, who scored 27 points Sunday. “Very tough. Not much to say. We didn’t think we would leave the tournament like this. We have to learn from it and come back next year. There isn’t anything else to do.”