If the French team delivered a splendid performance against Canada by winning 82-73 this Tuesday, before the match, some fears existed in particular because of the quarrel between Evan Fournier and Vincent Collet. The 31-year-old guard wanted to clarify things.

Expected at the turning point for these Olympic Games, the French team has hardly managed to reassure until now.

Before the match against Canada, it was therefore far from being the favorite.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s team was expected to win a medal, so a victory for the Blues against them seemed unexpected.

But finally, the latter managed to achieve the miracle.

Winners, Vincent Collet’s men demonstrated constant collective and tactical solidity during this clash, thus confounding the predictions.

One of the heroes of the evening was called Evan Fournier.

And yet, the coach and his guard were surely the ones who were the most criticized since the start of the competition.

The clarification between Vincent Collet and Evan Fournier

After the defeat in the group stage against Germany, through the media, Evan Fournier had expressed his dissatisfaction with Vincent Collet’s management.

This comment did not leave the coach indifferent, who then wanted to respond to the attack. In short, there seemed to be tension in the air between the two.

Questioned by Basket News, the former Knicks player then explained himself.

Read also
Niko Jokic’s cash decision and Serbia on the Olympic village: “The team has…

We are just two guys who have a competitive spirit. Coach Collet has been with us for 10 years now. I trust him, he trusts me.

We have affection for each other.

We are both competitors. Everything we say is for the good of the team, to move forward.

If I said what I said, it’s because I think we could have done much better than what we did.

That’s all. I don’t have an agenda. Vincent Collet has no other goal than to win.

And you know, when two people want to win, they find a solution together.

We talked and that’s it

For the good of the team, you have to know how to put your differences aside, something that both men were able to do.

We could even say that this discussion was more than useful for the team.

Indeed, if the Saint-Maurice native was not lined up in the starting 5, he will at least have been left on the field by his coach for 25 minutes, and especially during crucial moments.

The French international returned the favor to his coach by scoring 15 points at 4/8 shooting, including 3/6 at 3-point range, with above all a shot from midfield that will remain etched in the memories for a long time.

During France’s victory against Canada, Evan Fournier proved that he was almost indispensable to his team.

The fans can therefore rejoice that he was able to reconcile with Vincent Collet after their spat.