Slovenia falls to France in World Cup qualifiers

The Slovenian national basketball team started the second phase of the 2027 World Cup qualifiers with a significant road loss against a formidable French squad. Playing in Paris, Slovenia was defeated 67-92, a result that reflects the disparity in team strength.

This defeat marks Slovenia's fourth overall in the current qualifying campaign and their third consecutive loss. The team now finds itself below a .500 record, making their path to the World Cup more challenging. Alen Omić attempted to contain France's star player, Victor Wembanyama, but the French team's offensive power proved too much.

Slovenia currently sits at the bottom of their group after the first round of the second phase. While France leads the group with a perfect record, Slovenia is tied with Estonia at 3-4, though Estonia holds a better head-to-head record. The team's next opportunity to rebound and keep their World Cup hopes alive will be at home against Hungary on Sunday.

Marin Krampelj and Gregor Glas were Slovenia's top scorers with ten points each. For France, Victor Wembanyama stood out with 22 points. Slovenia has five more games in this round, with the top three teams from the group advancing to the World Cup.