France names 14-player squad for Riga game against Ukraine

The coaching staff of the France women's basketball national team has announced a 14-player squad for the November window of qualifying for "Women's EuroBasket 2027", the European championship for women's national teams. France will play three games in the window, including an away match against Ukraine in Riga. The squad was named by head coach Jean-Aimé Toupane, general manager Céline Dumerc and director Alain Contensou.

Schedule

On 11 November France hosts Great Britain at the Vendespace arena, on 14 November it travels to Luxembourg, and on 17 November at 14:00 it meets Ukraine at the Team Sports Hall in Riga. Later the same day, at 19:00, Latvia plays Italy in the same hall; tickets cost 8–12 euros.

The squad

On 13 September in Berlin, France won silver at the World Cup, losing the final 79:97 to the United States, a twelve-time champion. Two years earlier France also played in the Olympic final.

The squad includes world runners-up Valériane Ayayi, Mariam Badiane and Mina Touré. Ayayi represents Project B, whose debut season runs from January to March 2027. Seven other squad members played in the WNBA, the US women's professional league, this summer; two of them, Gabby Williams and Janelle Salaün, are still competing in the WNBA finals. Pauline Astier and Carla Leite have joined EuroLeague clubs, while Leila Lacan has been announced as another Project B player. As a result, reserve-level players were called up.

Attacking defender Nell Angloma and tall player Sarah Cissé are cited as some of France's rising stars. Point guard Marine Fauthoux also answered the call; she was left out of both the Paris Olympic squad and the World Cup squad.

Qualifying format

World Cup participants enter qualifying in the second round. In it, 24 teams in six groups compete for 12 places at the finals, with the top two from each group qualifying. Games are played in two windows: 8–18 November 2026 and 7–17 February 2027. Each window has three games per team.