What they say

"We can't think about the second round now. Argentina is no doubt the favorite. Nigeria is a strong and athletic team. You have to be smart with your tactics. And the Korean team is always running and shooting, they can kill you from distance at their best. It's a tough game now. Every team has weak and strong points. It's very interesting to play the World Cup because of that."

Andrei Kirilenko, Russian former NBA player on his nation's prospects at the 2019 World Cup

"For the reconstruction of the French team, we are trying to improve the young guys to the next level. We want the same identity that the French team had before. We were winning games by playing defense first and this is what I've believed the team now has to be today. Being committed to defense with good firepower offensively."