The dream lives on for the French national team as it's secured a spot in the gold medal game at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Guerschon Yabusele led the way with 17 points and seven rebounds in a 73-69 comeback victory over Germany in the Olympic men's basketball semifinals.
Germany got off to a hot start, the opposite of how it played against Greece in the quarterfinal. Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner led Germany to a 25-18 first quarter lead that included a 12-2 start. The offense disappeared in the second quarter, however, as France outscored Germany just 15-8 to tie the game at halftime. France captured its first lead of the game in the third quarter.
Yabusele scored nine straight points for France in the third, concluding with an and-1. Isaïa Cordinier was also excellent for the second straight game, posting 16 points and seven rebounds.
It was far from a two-person effort, though. Victor Wembanyama and Mathias Lessort each scored in double figures, while Nicolas Batum had nine points.
Schroder led the scoring for Germany, pouring in 18 points albeit on 33 percent shooting from the field. Wagner had 10 points but went scoreless in the second and third quarter.
France moves onto the gold medal game and will play the winner of the United States vs. Serbia on Saturday, Aug. 10. France secures at least a silver medal for men's basketball at the 2024 Olympics.
The Sporting News tracked live updates, scores and highlights from the France vs. Germany Olympic men's basketball semifinal game.
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
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France vs. Germany basketball final score
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final | |
| France | 18 | 15 | 23 | 17 | 73 |
| Germany | 25 | 8 | 17 | 19 | 69 |
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France vs. Germany updates, highlights from 2024 Olympic men's basketball
(All times Eastern).
Final: France 73, Germany 69
1:34 p.m.: Schroder misses the logo 3-pointer, and France wins 73-69. France will play the winner of USA-Serbia in the gold medal game.
FRANCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TAKES DOWN GERMANY.
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024
THEY'LL PLAY FOR A GOLD MEDAL IN FRONT OF A HOME CROWD! 🇫🇷👏 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/rPAFaPs3XO
1:33 p.m.: Cordinier nails both free throws. France leads 73-69.
1:32 p.m.: Cordinier is sent to the free throw line. He needs one to make this a three-point game. Both likely puts the game out of reach.
1:31 p.m.: Oh no, Schroder misses the first. He makes the second.
1:30 p.m.: Schroder is fouled and will shoot two free throws. Gobert checks in for rebounding purposes. France leads 71-68.
1:28 p.m.: Wembanyama splits the pair. Germany calls timeout with 10.9 seconds.
1:27 p.m.: Wembanyama gets fouled immediately, will go to the free throw line for two points.
1:26 p.m.: Oh no, Wagner trips and loses the ball after the defensive rebound. No foul called. Just 12 seconds remain and France has the ball.
1:23 p.m.: Lessort splits the pair and Wagner buries a deep 3-pointer to make this a two-point game. First points for Wagner since the first quarter.
1:22 p.m.: Schroder lays in two points to cut the lead down to four points. France leads 69-65 with Lessort going to the free throw line.
1:20 p.m.: Cordinier misses a dunk which would have put France up 71-63. Yabusele picks up his fifth personal foul on the next possession. He finishes with 17 points and seven rebounds.
1:16 p.m.: Obst nails a 3-pointer to cut the lead to six points with under three minutes remaining. Germany is still in this.
1:12 p.m.: Wembanyama and Albicy check back in with 4:10 remaining. Albicy has four personal fouls.
1:07 p.m.: Referees seemed to grant Germany two points after mistakenly not resetting the shot clock despite the ball hitting the rim. Because the shot clock shouldn't have gone off, Theis' layup should have counted, thus the reason for the two points.
1:04 p.m.: Germany gets a phantom bucket to cut the lead to 11 points. Referees haven't explained why points were awarded, and broadcast is confused.
1:03 p.m.: Ntilikina hits a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 13 points.
1:01 p.m.: My goodness, Lessort tells Germany that they're too little. The French big bullies two defenders for a post score to put France up 63-53.
1 p.m.: Wembanyama from deep puts France up 61-53 with under eight minutes to play.
12:57 p.m.: Nearly every bit of momentum is with France. Ntilikina's offensive rebound and layup put France up eight to start the fourth quarter.
End of third quarter: France 56, Germany 50
12:52 p.m.: Oh my, Wagner broke Wembanyama's ankles. No bucket from Germany, however.
12:50 p.m.: Lessort bullies his way in the post to extend France's lead. Fournier nails the triple on the next possession to give France a 56-50 lead with 1:41 remaining in the third quarter.
12:46 p.m.: That didn't last long. Albicy is subbed out the next possession.
12:44 p.m.: Albicy picks up his fourth personal foul midway through the third quarter, He remains in the game.
12:41 p.m.: Germany is keeping pace, however. It's answering every punch from France with one of its own.
12:40 p.m.: Batum! He blocks Schroder on the fastbreak. The crowd is going wild over France's strong second half.
12:39 p.m.: Yabusele finishes the and-1! He's on fire in the second half, leading all scorers with 15 points.
12:37 p.m.: Yabusele is up to double-figure points. He's got six straight points for France in the third quarter.
12:35 p.m.: Batum nails a 3-pointer to give France its first lead of the game. France is up 36-33 after a minute of play in the third quarter.
12:34 p.m.: We're back. Germany vs. France is tied 33-33 to start the second half.
Halftime: France 33, Germany 33
12:16 p.m.: Wembanyama ties the game with a poster dunk over Theis! Score is tied 33-33.
VICTOR WEMBANYAMA WITH A POSTERIZING DUNK!! 🇫🇷🤯
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024
📺 USA Network and Peacock | #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/WtZJIueo8p
12:12 p.m.: Despite the lack of scoring, Germany has maintained a lead all throughout the game. Germany is up 33-29 with 1:46 to play.
12:10 p.m.: Offense has significantly slowed down in the second quarter. Germany has scored just five points through seven minutes, while France has scored nine.
12:06 p.m.: Wembanyama has arrived, the 7-footer finishes an and-1 midway through the second quarter. Germany leads 28-25.
12:03 p.m.: Wembanyama blocks Theis' alley-oop attempt!
12:00 p.m.: Wembanyama and Gobert are sharing the floor — something the duo didn't do during the quarterfinal.
11:58 a.m.: Gobert starts the second quarter for France.
End of first quarter: Germany 25, France 18
11:52 a.m.: Not a great first quarter from Wembanyama. He's 0-3 from the field with 0 points.
11:49 a.m.: Yabusele lays in his first two points of the game. Another big game from him would be great for France.
11:44 a.m.: Cordinier continues to deliver on the world's biggest international stage. His corner 3-pointer gives him nine total points as France is trailing 18-16.
11:43 a.m.: Fournier enters the game for the first time and hits a midrange jumper. Lots of offense for both squads so far. Germany leads 18-13 with just under three minutes remaining.
11:41 a.m.: Wagner is not afraid to attack Wembanyama early. He's got seven points on 3-3 shooting.
11:38 a.m.: Germany looks much better to start this game compared to its quarterfinal match against Greece. Lead is now 12-5 at the 6:31 mark.
11:36 a.m.: Schroder is doing his thing early, knocking down a 3-pointer to put Germany up 9-2. Wagner follows up with a 3-pointer of his own as Germany leads 12-2.
11:34 a.m.: Schroder took a tough hit below the belt, grimaced on his way up. He's staying in the game but seemed to be in a bit of pain. He knocks down both free throws to put Germany up 6-0.
11:32 a.m.: Franz Wagner scores the game's first points over Wembanyama. Germany leads 2-0 after one minute of play.
Pregame
11:30 a.m.: France once again benching Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier in the starting lineup. It worked last game against Canada.
11:21 a.m.: France pulled off an upset over Canada despite not much offensive production from Wembanyama. It's unlikely that France could win again without its star big scoring in double figures.
11:13 a.m.: Aside from the known NBA talent, Isaïa Cordinier and Guerschon Yabusele are two players to watch from France's side. Each player surpassed 20 points in the quarterfinal match against Canada.
11:04 a.m.: France lost to Germany 85-71 on Friday, Aug. 2 during group play. Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder both scored 26 points in that game. Wembanyama led France with 14 points.
10:56 a.m.: This is the first of two Olympic men's basketball semifinal games today. The USA plays Serbia after France vs. Germany. Both games happen to be rematches from the group play stage.
10:48 a.m.: France vs. Germany is less than 45 minutes away from tip-off. Winner earns a spot in the gold medal game.
How to watch France vs. Germany men's basketball semifinals
- Date: Thursday, Aug. 8
- Time: 11:30 a.m. ET
- TV channel: USA Network
- Live stream: Peacock, Fubo
France vs. Germany is the first of two semifinal games for Olympic men's basketball on Thursday, Aug. 8. The game begins at 11:30 a.m. ET before the United States plays Serbia in the second semifinal.
Fans can tune in on USA Network or stream the game live on Peacock or Fubo, which offers a free trial.
Germany basketball Olympic schedule 2024
Germany finished 3-0 in Group B, having defeated France 85-71 on Friday, Aug. 2. The two will get a rematch in the semifinals.
Germany beat Greece in the quarterfinals 76-63.
| Date | Game | Time (ET) | TV channel |
| July 27 | Germany 97, Japan 77 | — | — |
| July 30 | Germany 86, Brazil 73 | — | — |
| Aug. 2 | Germany 85, France 71 | — | — |
| Aug. 6 | Germany 76, Greece 63 (Quarterfinal) | — | — |
| Aug. 8 | France 73, Germany 69 (Semifinal) | — | — |
France basketball Olympic schedule 2024
France was a part of Group B, which included Brazil, Japan, and Germany. The team went 2-1, losing only to Germany, en route to finishing second in the group.
France upset Canada in the quarterfinals, winning 82-73.
| Date | Game | Time (ET) | TV channel |
| July 27 | France 78, Brazil 66 | — | — |
| July 30 | France 94, Japan 90 | — | — |
| Aug. 2 | Germany 85, France 71 | — | — |
| Aug. 5 | France 82, Canada 73 (Quarterfinal) | — | — |
| Aug. 8 | France 73, Germany 69 (Semifinal) | — | — |
Men's Olympic basketball schedule 2024
Thursday, Aug. 8
| Round | Matchup | Time (ET) |
| Semifinal | France vs. Germany | 11:30 a.m. |
| Semifinal | USA vs. Serbia | 3 p.m. |
Saturday, Aug. 10
| Round | Matchup | Time (ET) |
| Bronze medal game | Germany vs. TBD | 5 a.m. |
| Gold medal game | France vs. TBD | 3:30 p.m. |