DONGGUAN, China — The United States men’s national basketball team arrived at this FIBA World Cup fearing Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece and, most of all, Nikola Jokic of Serbia. It turns out that the Americans, on top of their roster limitations, should have been worried most about Rudy Gobert of France.

Gobert and Evan Fournier, France’s inside-outside combination from the N.B.A., combined to torment the United States virtually from start to finish Wednesday night and inflict a stunning 89-79 quarterfinal defeat upon the two-time defending champions.

The United States had won 58 consecutive games in FIBA and Olympic competition, dating to its defeat to Greece in the 2006 world championship in Japan, which led to a bronze medal. It responded by winning the next five major championships in international basketball, including Olympic gold in 2008, 2012 and 2016.

Wednesday’s loss dumped the Americans into the fifth-place bracket and validated a summer’s worth of fears that they were vulnerable because of high-profile players declining to participate.