Can the French women succeed where their men have failed? Can they pull off an upset at the Paris Olympics and take gold by beating a US team that hasn’t lost an Olympic basketball game since 1992 (60 consecutive wins and counting)?

It’s sport, anything is possible. But for France to win gold, a lot of things have to go right.

First, the USA needs to help the French and beat themselves with turnovers and sloppy play. The USA is simply more talented and athletic. The Americans are losing this game because they are undisciplined. We haven’t seen that from the Americans before, but they have also never had to play in an arena in front of a deafening home crowd like this before.

Second, France suddenly needs to score. This is not a team that scores a lot of points and good shots, they hit 30% of their three-pointers during the Olympics. France beat Belgium in the semifinals despite hitting just 29.9% of their shots in the entire game (22.6% from the three-point line). They did this by getting to the free throw line and forcing turnovers on defense, which brings us back to the first point, which is that the US is disciplined.

Third, France needs to elevate its WNBA stars – Gabby Williams, Valériane Ayayi, Marine Johannès and Iliana Rupert. Williams in particular is key. She is the most important and best scorer on this team and France relies heavily on her to build the offense. Williams is France’s leading scorer (14.8 points) and has the most assists (5.8) per game and she needs to play the game of her life.

Finally, France needs to draw the USA into their chaotic game. France needs an ugly fight for the gold medal. If it is a calm and traditional fight, the USA will win gold again. France will have a loud crowd and probably some positive boos. They need that to unsettle the USA a little and throw them off balance. Then all that is left is for the game to get chaotic. If that is the case, France has a chance.

However, this is unlikely against the experienced US team.