Hard European Championship start for the DBB giants

The long wait is over. From Germany’s point of view, the basketball highlight of 2022 starts on Thursday. Germany will play the first game at the EURO Basket 2022 in the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. The kick-off could not have been more atmospheric, but also harder. With the Olympic silver medallist from France, a very tough opponent awaits them right at the start.

Germany didn’t really have luck on its side in the draw. In the group of six, Gordon Herbert’s team will face France, Lithuania and Slovenia, three teams that have come to Germany to win a medal in the end. Only the teams from Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina are considered outsiders.

The best four teams from each of the four groups will then travel to the knockout rounds in Berlin. That is the minimum goal for the German team. A victory at the start would be perfect to take the euphoria into the tournament.

Any victory in the group phase is important to avoid being handed a tough challenge in the play-offs. Gordon Herbert will adjust his team accordingly and those who watched the great performance against the reigning European champions from Slovenia can certainly think about placing a bet on a win for the hosts between France and Germany.

France – Statistics & current form

France has been one of the best basketball nations in the world for about 20 years. Numerous medals have been won at World Championships, European Championships and Olympic Games. The only slip-up in recent years was a 12th-place finish at EURO Basket 2017, but they followed that up with bronze at the World Championships in 2019 and silver at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.

Difficulties in the witch’s cauldron

Naturally, the Equipe Tricolore is one of the hot contenders for precious metal at the European Championships starting now. However, the French have their problems against teams that show them a lot of passion and have a frenetic crowd behind them. That will definitely be the case on Thursday and that is why we are looking at least between France and Germany at the odds for a handicap win (+7.5 points) for the German team.

France have only lost two of their last twelve international matches, but those were in Montenegro and last weekend in Bosnia. Both matches fulfilled the aforementioned attributes. Nevertheless, Vincent Collet’s team is on a very good path towards the 2023 World Cup. In the group of six, where there are three tickets to the title matches, the French are in second place behind Lithuania.

In terms of names, France is fielding a great team at the EURO Basket. The Equipe Tricolore is led by Evan Fournier of the New York Knicks and Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Two other players play in the NBA and three players are under contract with Real Madrid. Apparently, however, coach Vincent Collet has not yet managed to weld the undoubtedly strong individual talents into a team.

Projected France squad:
Okobo, M’Baye, Luwawu-Cabarrot, Heurtel, Fournier, Maledon, Jaiteh, Poirier, Tarpey, Gobert, Yabusele, Cordinier – Coach: Collet

Germany – Statistics & current form

Germany have big goals at this home European Championship. Although there are a few absentees, it is widely claimed that there has rarely been a better German squad at a major tournament. If Gordon Herbert’s team can call up their qualities and get the crowd on board right from the start of the tournament, they may go far.

Strong record in recent internationals

The form certainly seems to be right, as the DBB giants have won ten of their last eleven international matches and are almost certain to qualify for next year’s World Cup. However, the German team also suffered a nasty defeat against the European Championship favourites from Serbia a little over a week ago in Hamburg.

Gordon Herbert’s team has already come out of this little slump, however, as they defeated European champions Slovenia 90-71 in the World Cup qualifier in Munich last Sunday. All in all, a unified team performance was to be admired and if they perform like that at the start of the European Championship, then one can perhaps make an optimistic forecast for a German victory between France and Germany.

With David Krämer and Leon Kratzer, two players have been left out of the European Championship squad. However, Gordon Herbert still has 13 players in the squad because there is hope that Daniel Theis, despite knee problems, will still be fit. Nevertheless, there are two notable absentees. With Moritz Wagner and Paul Zipser, the DBB men would certainly be a little stronger.

Projected line-up of Germany:
Lo, Giffey, Voigtmann, F. Wagner, Theis, Schröder, Wohlfahrt-Bottermann, Hollatz, Thiemann, Obst, Weiler-Babb, Sengfelder, Schilling – Coach: Herbert

France – Germany Direct Comparison / H2H-Balance

In basketball, the national teams from France and Germany have played 22 international matches so far. Probably one could have expected more. In the direct comparison, the Equipe Tricolore is ahead with 15:7. It is interesting to note, however, that in the last five duels the winners have always alternated.

The last time they met was in the European Championship qualifiers in 2020, when the German team won 83-69 at home. The return match in Paris in November 2020 went 86-74 to the French. In the end, both qualified for the EURO Basket. According to the law of the series, however, it should now be the German selection’s turn to win again.

France – Germany Tip

Don’t talk down the French. Although they suffered a defeat in Bosnia in the World Cup qualifiers last time out, even if Evan Fournier has not seen a team yet, the Equipe Tricolore will certainly present themselves better on Thursday at EURO Basket. Coach Vincent Collet should have drawn his conclusions from this defeat in time.

After all, France has won ten of the last twelve international games. Germany, however, can shine with an equally strong series and won ten of the last eleven games.

Now, however, the French will not always play as badly as they did in Bosnia and Germany will probably not excel in every game. Therefore, it remains the case that the Equipe Tricolore will go into this match as favourites. However, we do not expect a big win and therefore we have decided to play the betting odds on a handicap win (+7.5) for the German team between France and Germany.