John David Mercer/USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

France vs Canada: Olympic Games – Quarterfinals

The host team France will go against Canada in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics tournament at Accor Arena in Paris.

 

Can Victor Wembanyama lift the French team?

France has the support of the home crowd at the Olympics but their performance was not at the expected level. France started with a nice 78-66 win over Brazil, then barely escaped with a 94-90 overtime win over Japan and lost 85-71 in the last matchday to Germany. Victor Wembanyama had 14 points and 12 rebounds in the last game, while Evan Fournier and Isaia Cordinier scored 10 points each.

 

Canada looks great

Canada won all three games in the group stage. They started with an 86-79 win over Greece, followed by a 93-83 win over Australia, and finished with an 88-85 win over Spain sending the Spanish team home. Shai Gilgeous Alexander scored 20 points in that game followed by Andrew Nembhard who has 18.

 

Head-to-head

These two teams have played each other seven times before with Canada winning four and France three times. Their last game was just before the Olympics and Canada won 85-73. They also played in the group stage of the last World Cup and Canada absolutely dominated that one with a 95-65 win. France’s last win came in the 2016 Olympic finals when they won 83-74 to become Olympic champions.

 

Prediction and Conclusion

This is a highly anticipated game between the home team and Canada, who are one of the teams that are projected to make it to the finals of the Olympics. Canada was much better so far in the tournament, comfortably winning all three previous games, while France had major problems against Japan and lost to Germany. France will have the support of the home crowd, and Wembanyama is expected to have his best game of the tournament. Canada has plenty of NBA players who are ready to deliver when it matters most. Still, this will be a tight game, and we go with France covering the +7.5-point spread.