At the EuroBasket 2007, France fell behind their aspirations again. After a strong preliminary round, the team was eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual champion Russia 75–71, then was beaten in the classification matches by Croatia 86–69 and Slovenia 88–74, finishing in eighth place, missing out on the Olympic Games for the second consecutive time. In the following months, the team had to go through the ordeal of qualifications to participate in the next EuroBasket which was to be held in 2009. In 2008, former national team coach Michel Gomez returned to lead the team, a position he held between 1993 and 1995. But Gomez failed to help France qualify directly for the European Championship, and had to enter a repechage tournament. In August 2009 he was replaced by Vincent Collet, coach of ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne.