Reactions after France – Germany: “We were missing a big player”, “it’s good that it’s happening now”

Isaïa Cordinier et les Bleus se sont inclinés contre l'Allemagne ce lundi 8 juillet. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

Nicolas Batum, Matthew Straizel and Nando De Colo stopped a few minutes after the Blues' defeat against Germany in a friendly match, in Montpellier, this Monday July 8.

Nando De Colo (leader of the Blues, 200th selection this Monday) : "Tonight's defeat is complicated, especially when playing at home. We know that we must continue to work. Nothing is ever acquired. We know this evening that we played without Victor (Wembanyama, ill). But it’s up to us to question ourselves, to see how we can evolve without him."

Matthew Strazel (leader of the Blues) : "It warms our hearts to play in front of so many audiences, so many people. This is a big plus. It was interesting to play against a Germany reinforced by its two Wagners. We were able to see a little where we are offensively and defensively without Victor. We had a good start to the match but we decreased in intensity as it progressed. There are positive and negative things. "Yab'" (Yabusele) had a little knee problem, Victor was ill, we had to compensate internally, that's what cost us at the end."

Une autre histoire 💪

Privés de Victor Wembanyama, les Bleus ont essuyé leur première défaite de la préparation contre l'Allemagne. #TeamFranceBasket | #PassionnémentBleu

— Équipes de France de Basket (@FRABasketball) July 8, 2024

"The Germans have become more aggressive"

Nicolas Batum (Blues winger) : "Too bad we don’ was able to offer victory to Montpellier where we have always been well received. Matches like this are important and interesting for us. It allows us to see what there is to improve, it’s very good that it happened this evening. The Germans became more aggressive, we had difficulty containing Schröder. It’s good that all this is happening now at a time when we were missing a big player and there were a few glitches."