Will Iceland go home without a win again?
Les Bleus have already secured their place in the round of 16. Winning the group is still possible with a win in the France vs. Iceland tip. Like Israel and Poland, head coach Frederic Fauthoux’s protégés have won three group games and suffered one defeat.
The French team’s frontcourt has become even thinner after Alexandre Sarr’s injury-related withdrawal (calf injury). Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama, Mathias Lessort, and Vincent Poirier had already withdrawn before the tournament. Their absence will definitely have an impact on the France vs. Iceland prediction.
Nevertheless, we have no doubt that the French will win. The bookmakers with the best odds have a similar assessment of the situation and are offering double-digit odds for a French victory over Iceland. Despite the cancellations and absences in the 2013 European champions’ team, the difference in individual quality is too great.
Coach Craig Pederson’s team has avoided spectacular defeats of historic proportions in this EuroBasket tournament. Against Slovenia, the match on the fourth day of play was even fairly balanced (79:87).
Poor shooting percentages prevented Les Bleues from achieving a higher scoring average than 86.8 (6th) in their first four appearances. Less than a third of attempts from outside the three-point line found the net (29.4 percent). During the two previous group games against Israel (69:82) and Poland (83:76), France scored a total of only 152 points (76 on average).
In addition, Iceland has underlined its competitiveness in every game and has not lost any match by more than twelve points. At Betano, we are opting for France vs. Iceland odds of 1.87 and are betting on “France under 90.5 points.”
France – Iceland Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
In 2015, the Icelandic team qualified for the European Championship for the first time, but ended the final round without a win (0-5). Two years later, the Nordics participated in Euro Basket again and also lost every game (0-5). One of these defeats was against France (79-115) for Craig Pedersen’s team, who was already the national coach at the time.
After missing out on the final tournament in 2022, Pedersen’s protégés are back at Euro Basket this year. As things stand, Iceland is still waiting for its first win (0-14). However, there is no criticism of the underdog’s commitment and mentality.
France – Iceland Tip
The French team has some concerns on offense. Of course, Guerschon Yabusele’s new career high (36 points) from the last game against host Poland (83-76) was a positive sign for Les Bleus fans. However, apart from him, only Jaylen Hoard scored in double digits (10).
The three-point percentage of the reigning European vice-champions (who lost the final to Spain in 2022) is below 30 percent and would look even worse without Yabusele’s performance in the last game (6/12 three-pointers). In addition, France has averaged only 76 points in its last two games.
The Icelanders’ results in this tournament are also relevant. Iceland has not allowed 90 or more points against Israel (71:82), Belgium (64:71), Poland (75:84) or Slovenia (79:87). Head coach Craig Pedersen’s team defends tenaciously until the end and will also put in a persistent defensive performance against France.
We expect a French victory, but not an offensive explosion from Fauthoux’s team. Nevertheless, that will be enough for the 2013 European champions to advance to the knockout stage. A medal, as in four of the five previous events, is therefore still possible.
