The dark summer of French youth teams: zero titles and worst results in 10 years!
« The future seemed secure, to be confirmed over time », we wrote last year, after a historic summer for French junior teams. Spoiler: the confirmation didn’t happen. On the contrary, the 2025 youth crop is historically weak. The worst in ten years even…
Eight campaigns, only one final
Far from the four gold medals of 2024, a total that was admittedly utopian to hope to repeat, the young French teams only reached one final in eight opportunities these past weeks. And its outcome is close to being the most dreadful memory of the summer with the terrible collapse of the U18 men against Spain, guilty of squandering an eight-point lead in the last 35 seconds, after having played magnificent basketball in Belgrade.
✅ 8 PTS DOWN
✅ 40 SECS TO GOSpanish DNA activated 🏆🇪🇸#U18EuroBasket x @NextGenHoops pic.twitter.com/bQKNJhnGzM
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) August 4, 2025
In total, the haul amounts to three medals: silver for the U18s, plus bronze for the U20s and U18 women. Apart from that, a whole series of nightmares. In no particular order: the 2-25 against… Switzerland in the World Cup U19 round of 16, Mario Machetti’s killer shot in the U16 EuroBasket quarter-finals, the threat of relegation to division B for U20 women, the first missed U17 World Cup since 2012 for both men and women…
GAME. SET. MATCH#U16EUROBASKET X @Italbasket 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/shS2yFouD0
— NextGen Hoops (@NextGenHoops) August 13, 2025
Results of French junior teams in 2025:
- U20M: bronze medal (lost 71-81 to Lithuania in semi)
- U19M: 10th (lost 79-86 to Switzerland in round of 16)
- U18M: silver medal (lost 81-82 to Spain in final)
- U16M: 5th (lost 73-76 to Italy in quarter)
- U20F: 13th (lost 74-81 to Israel in round of 16)
- U19F: 5th (lost 65-70 to USA in quarter)
- U18F: bronze medal (lost 65-71 to Spain in semi)
- U16F: 7th (lost 53-72 to Spain in quarter)
What are the reasons?
Three podium finishes is few. To find a similar record, we have to go back to 2018, with the only difference being that there were two world finals then, with both U17 selections taking silver. Thus, French junior basketball had its worst summer since 2015, when the men brought back no medals, compared to two for the girls (silver for U20 and U18).
September debrief
« In September, all coaches of French youth and adult teams, girls and boys, meet to debrief the campaigns, » says Élise Prodhomme, the silver-winning U18 coach. « There’s experience sharing. What worked, what didn’t work? We discuss all of this to evolve everything. There will be a real analysis. »
So, just a one-off or necessary wake-up call to reset everything? We’ll wait for another confirmation in 2026: that this disastrous summer was just an accident…
Annual results of French junior teams for the past 20 years:
- 2025: 3 medals (0 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)
- 2024: 5 medals (4 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze)
- 2023: 6 medals (3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
- 2022: 4 medals (1 gold, 0 silver, 3 bronze)
- 2019: 4 medals (0 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze)
- 2018: 3 medals (0 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
- 2017: 4 medals (2 gold, 0 silver, 2 bronze)
- 2016: 3 medals (2 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze)
- 2015: 2 medals (0 gold, 2 silver, 0 bronze)
- 2014: 3 medals (2 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze)
- 2013: 2 medals (0 gold, 2 silver, 0 bronze)
- 2012: 3 medals (1 gold, 2 silver, 0 bronze)
- 2011: 2 medals (0 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
- 2010: 4 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)
- 2009: 5 medals (1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)
- 2008: 2 medals (0 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
- 2007: 3 medals (1 gold, 0 silver, 2 bronze)
- 2006: 2 medals (1 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze)
- 2005: 4 medals (1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
*No competition in 2020 and only U19 World Cups in 2021 (with silver medal for men)
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