Wembanyama Takes Over as France's Captain
The San Antonio Spurs star will lead the national team for the first time in August, with coach Freddy Fauthoux making a bold choice over the more experienced Gobert and Fournier.
The San Antonio Spurs star will lead the national team for the first time in August, with coach Freddy Fauthoux making a bold choice over the more experienced Gobert and Fournier.
Victor Wembanyama has been named the new captain of the French national basketball team, announced on Wednesday, August 19, 2026. The decision was made by coach Freddy Fauthoux ahead of four games in ten days for the French team, as confirmed by Le Figaro and France Info.
Wembanyama returns to the national team for the first time since the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he won silver with France. He missed EuroBasket 2025 in the meantime and will now debut in his new role.
The coach has entrusted the captain's armband to his best player, despite the presence of experienced veterans Rudy Gobert (34 years old, 114 caps) and Evan Fournier (33 years old, 118 caps). Gobert first received the armband in June, but Fauthoux has now judged that Wembanyama's charisma and leadership merit precedence over the two multiple medal winners from European, world, and Olympic competitions.
At EuroBasket 2025, Guerschon Yabusele was the captain, and before him, Nicolas Batum held that role for a long time. Wembanyama will thus become the next in a line of French leaders.
The first game is scheduled for Thursday, August 20, 2026, against Serbia in Belgrade. Le Figaro reports the game starts at 8:00 PM, while France Info mentions 8:30 PM, so sources are not aligned on the exact start time.
The second friendly against Serbia, which according to France Info is without competitive stakes, takes place on Sunday in Orléans at 6:00 PM. Then come the qualifying matches for the 2027 World Cup: against Slovenia on August 27 in Paris and against Sweden on August 30 in Stockholm.
The 2027 World Cup will be held in Qatar, and France will seek a path to the final tournament through these qualifying windows.
The French national basketball team confirmed the news via its X account, stating: "Victor Wembanyama will be the captain of the French national team for the fourth window of the 2027 World Cup qualifiers."
France Info also published a related article alongside the news, titled "J'ai hâte de voir comment le public a évolué" (I can't wait to see how the audience has changed), which focuses on Wembanyama's return to the national team after two years.
