A feat for a place in the final. The French basketball team is not far away from offering an Olympic final at home in Paris. Before that, the Blues must beat European champions Belgium, who have been impressive since the start of the competition, on Friday 9 August. The Belgians start as favourites, but Marine Johannès and her teammates can spring a surprise. Start at 21:00.
1 minute 30 left
The tension is palpable in the Arena Bercy.
64-60
Two free throws for France.
62-60
The Belgians remain tied with a basket in the racket.
62-58
Blues combine well, Rupert finds himself under the basket and scores.
60-58
This is Badiane's fifth personal foul. Two free throws for Belgium.
60-56
A free kick for Belgium.
The Belgians are lost
The end of the match is difficult for the Belgians, but nothing is over.
60-55
A free kick for the French thanks to Rupert.
59-55
Huge pass from Fauthoux in the attack, the Belgians score in the action that follows.
59-53
A free kick by Johannès.
58-53 Ayayi and the Blues on fire!
Ayayi scores at the end of the clock in a crazy atmosphere! The blues widen the gap a bit.
56-53
But the blues are very strong and score immediately thanks to Salaun.
54-53
The Belgians do not leave much of a gap in favor of the French.
54-51
After five shot attempts (!), the French managed to take offensive rebounds. Johannès scores two free throws.
52-51
Two free throws for the Blues!
50-51
Two free throws for the French who are back in the game!
Blues doing well late in the third quarter! (48-51)
After a huge crisis at the beginning of the quarter, the French were able to recover and slowly come back against the passive Belgians who are only waiting for the French mistakes. There are still many things to correct, but the blues have their chance!
48-51
Two free throws for the French.
46-51
The Blues managed a lightning counterattack, Salaun finished with a shot from distance.
43-51
But the Belgians are very strong and score immediately.
43-49
Fauthoux puts on a show in the rocket!
41-49
Meesseman answers Williams with three points.
41-46
Williams goes on the counterattack and shoots a three-pointer. It is a success for the French woman!
38-46
Finally a nice move by the French in the racket. Williams finds Badiane just under the basket who manages to score.
36-46 Rupert frees the Blues
Rupert takes responsibility and calmly scores three points. The French are doing better.
33-46
Finally a blue basket! Williams scores under the basket.
31-46
The Belgian festival continues.
31-44 Things get complicated for France
The Blues are no longer able to find the way to the basket. It's just the opposite for the Belgians who score from long range.
31-41
The Blues still can't score. Meesseman took the opportunity to score two points on the counter attack.
31-39
The Belgians start strong with a new three-point basket on the left side.
Let's go for the third quarter in Paris!
The Blues have the ball.
Blues lose at halftime! (31-36)
While they went 15-1 early in the second quarter, the Blues collapsed just before halftime. Between the lack of shooting success and losing the ball, the French need to do much better to hope to qualify for the finals. The Belgians are not brilliant, but they manage to take the chance during the opposing team's breaks.
31-36
Two more free throws for the Belgians.
The blues are not there at all
They keep making mistakes and losing balls. What a difference from the start of this second term.
31-34
Two free throws from the Belgians.
31-32 The Belgians regain the advantage
The blues can no longer attack at all.
31-30
Ramette does a lot of damage to the blues and manages to score under the basket.
31-28
Two free throws for the Belgians.
31-26
But Linskens answers immediately.
31-24
The Blues breathe a little with two new points.
29-24 The Belgians make their comeback
Ramette tries his luck at three points and makes his shot. The French lose too many balls.
29-21
A free kick for the Belgians.
Lots of downtime
The French make a lot of mistakes, like Gabby Williams, who already has 3 individual mistakes.
29-20
The Belgians try to come back with two more free throws.
29-18 Huge Ayayi!
What a match for the points-scoring Frenchwoman. After getting into the racket, she scores then gets fouled. The Belgians lose 15-1 in this second quarter.
27-18
The Belgians are no longer able to score because of the pressure from the Bleues. Two more free throws for France.
25-18
The French are impeccable at shooting! New demonstration from Ayayi at three points.
22-18
A free kick by Ramette for Belgium.
22-17 Les Bleues take the lead!
The French have returned superbly! Badiane makes a superb three-point shot.
19-17
Two free throws from Les Bleues thanks to Ayayi.
17-17 Johannes leaves
Johannès finally scores after three missed shots. She hits a three-point shot and allows the French to get back into the tie.
End of the first quarter (14-17)!
Blues took some time to get going. Back to the Belgians, they couldn't compete at the end of the first quarter due to too many turnovers. But the gap is still not very significant.
14-17
Michel recovers the ball then Ayayi decides to shoot from the middle, it's successful!
10-17 The Belgians widen the gap
Another free kick for the Belgians.
10-16
The Blues can't do that again in this first quarter. They are overtaken by Belgian offensives.
10-14
The Belgians punish the French after another loss of the ball.
10-12
The Belgians miss two free throws then recover the ball and score thanks to Meesseman.
10-10
Rupert brings to fruition a beautiful movement of French women. She shoots from the middle and scores. The Blues are level with the Belgians.
8-10
Two free throws from the Belgians thanks to Mununga.
8-8
Badiane tries twice to equalize.
6-8
Salaün is in very good form for the start of the match. His mid-range shot goes over!
4-8
Rupert gives the Blues a little respite.
2-8
Delaere recovers the ball at three points then scores too easily entering the racket.
2-6
Meesseman is on a roll and no one can stop him.
2-4
The first points for the blues thanks to two free throws from Salaün.
0-4
Meesseman scores too easily on the opposing defense, turning halfway to the basket.
The French have already lost three balls
Difficult start for the blues who cannot attack.
0-2
Belgium scores the first points thanks to Meesseman.
Let's start!
The Belgians win the jump ball.
The players hit the floor!
The stadium is full. Time for hymns.
Paris loves French basketball
So far no French team has lost on the floors of Bercy in Paris, the new location of the Olympic basketball tournament after the group stages in Lille.
The winning team will face the United States in the final
The players of the USA team, big favorites, logically won against Australia (84-64).
France, the best defense in the competition
The Blues have defended very well since the start of the Olympic tournament. They received an average of 62.7 points. A good reason to believe in the chances of victory.
Emma Meesseman, a giant against the blues
The 31-year-old Belgian is considered the best player in the world today. His start to the competition was very good. He will be the number 1 threat to France.
Les Bleues, for an exploit and a final?
The French are dreaming of qualifying for an Olympic final that has eluded them since 2012. But the Belgians will be as keen to thwart that dream as the Blues' balloons. The match is announced very closely.
Hello everyone!
Welcome to this live to watch the semifinal between France and Belgium in the Olympic basketball tournament. Start at 21:00 from Bercy, in Paris.