In front of the 1000 spectators admitted to the Palais des sports in Pau for the training of the France team, the Blues did not deviate from their habits. A midfield shooting contest ended the session, disputed without Mathias Lessort (ankle) or Moustapha Fall and Rudy Gobert, spared after morning training. “I’m not going to lie, I made a lot of money today (Saturday), I’m going to be able to go to the casino”, joked Elie Okobo, back in a room where he spent three seasons under the colors of the Elan Béarnais (2015-2018). Gathered since the beginning of the week, the Blues repeated their ranges 48 hours before their first World Cup preparation match, Monday against Tunisia (8:30 p.m.). The start of a campaign that everyone hopes will be crowned with gold, after Olympic silver in 2021 and European silver in 2022.
Rudy Gobert (pivot of the France team): “It’s always a pleasure to find the group, players that I don’t see most of the year. I feel better than at the end of last season, I was able to do two months of work where I prepared my body, physically and technically. I feel in great shape. (On his doubts in April about his participation) As a professional player, I also have to think about my health, my physical recovery and a lot of things that can be hard to understand for those who don’t know the daily life of an athlete. high level, of an NBA player. The cut after the end of the season (1-4 defeat in the first round of the play-offs against Denver, future champion) was not one of them, I trained a lot in June and July, I feel good and it is also why I’m here (smile).
(On the World Cup) I really like the state of mind we have at this start of preparation. We are going to play a World Cup, where there are more matches than at the Olympic Games (8 against 6 in the event of a journey to the final). We want to continue to progress every day, including during the competition. The end goal is to have the gold medal, the one we haven’t yet managed to get. »
Elie Okobo in defense on Evan Fournier, Saturday in Pau. (R. Perrocheau/The Team)
Nando de Colo (leader-back of the French team): “Even if the pace is quite intense, we are trying to manage this recovery. We know that the preparation is quite short (four weeks before the match against Canada, August 25). There are few training sessions, a few preparation matches and we must not forget that we are traveling to the other side of the world. Every moment is going to be important, we said to ourselves, whether on the pitch or off, in a video session. You have to be concentrated to assimilate as quickly as possible what you want to put in place. Even if I was not with the team last year (he had chosen to skip Euro 2022), I followed them. Things change, yes, but that’s the case for the whole team. I know my role and I know what I have to do.
Élie Okobo (playback of the French team): “It’s cool, today (Saturday) this open training, it’s nice to see the fans of Elan Béarnais, of the France team. I’m a little disgusted that Pau-Orthez is going down to Pro B. I wanted to play against them again at the start of the school year. When I see the seats, the entrance hall of the Palace and the city of Pau in general, I am happy. My relatives will also be there for the match. (On the start of preparation) I think we have a very good group, the preparation is short, it will not be an easy competition, we will come up against big teams. But we work hard every day, I really like the way we train and the intensity we put in. We correct our little mistakes. We will be ready. »