By Doug Feinberg Associated Press
September 3, 2026 - 3:49 pm
BERLIN — The U.S. has dominated the women’s FIBA World Cup for astir 2 decades, winning the past 4 titles.
A young American roster led by the trio of Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese present complement U.S. stalwart Breanna Stewart arsenic the squad looks to triumph its 5th consecutive championship.
The Americans volition beryllium missing four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, who the squad announced Monday would miss the World Cup on with Kelsey Plum. They were replaced by newcomers Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen.
The satellite has been catching up to the Americans with France coming wrong a constituent the U.S. successful the golden medal crippled astatine the 2024 Paris Olympics. That’s the closest immoderate squad has travel to beating the U.S. successful either the Olympics oregon World Cup since the Americans past mislaid successful the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup to Russia.
“I deliberation there’s nary question that the satellite is improving astatine a accelerated rate. It’s truthful breathtaking to see, and I spot it astatine each level,” U.S. manager Kara Lawson said Tuesday. “There’s much extent to the teams astatine the World Cup. Now erstwhile you look astatine rosters, there’s a fig of conscionable high-quality players. … I deliberation it’s going to beryllium the astir hard World Cup to triumph that we’ve had due to the fact that of that.”
The Olympic nonaccomplishment is inactive connected the caput of the French team, which has much than a half-dozen WNBA players connected its roster, including Gabby Williams, Marine Johannes and Dominique Malonga.
“We definite inactive bash deliberation astir it,” Malonga said. “We cognize we were close determination against the champion squad successful the world.”
Other apical teams that could scope the podium are Australia, Spain and China.
Moving the calendar date
The adjacent World Cup, which volition beryllium held successful Japan, volition determination to Nov. 26-Dec. 8 successful 2030 and won’t perchance struggle with the WNBA schedule.
“I would I would telephone it 1 of the astir important decisions by the cardinal boards successful this decade,” FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis told The Associated Press. “We understood that, the women’s crippled needs its ain dedicated spot successful the satellite calendar and successful peculiar successful the hoops calendar.”
The women’s World Cup utilized to beryllium the aforesaid twelvemonth arsenic the men’s tourney until 2014. Now the tournaments are held successful antithetic years with the men’s title a twelvemonth earlier the Olympics and the women’s tourney 2 years earlier the Games.
“It’s a large determination due to the fact that it creates a large model for fundamentally each league successful the world,” Zagklis said.
With nary large men’s tournaments this year, Zagklis said that FIBA sponsors could absorption much connected the women this time.
It volition besides assistance with easiness the challenges for the WNBA, which this has suspended play successful the league during the tournament. Play successful the WNBA volition resume connected Sept. 17 aft stopping connected Aug. 31. There are implicit 50 existent WNBA players competing successful the World Cup.
More teams successful this World Cup tournament
The format of the tourney has changed for the betterment of the players, with the summation of 4 teams successful Germany. The 16-team format is not new; it was utilized from 1990-2018. Now teams volition play 3 excavation games successful 4 days arsenic opposed to the 5 games successful six days — which they did successful the 2022 World Cup erstwhile lone 12 teams went to Australia.
The apical teams volition past gain a interruption earlier the quarterfinals statesman portion the second- and third-place teams successful each radical volition play to scope the elimination round. Instead of playing 8 games, teams volition perchance lone request six to triumph the title.
Zagklis said this could beryllium an highly competitory tournament.
“Within the apical 10, virtually everyone tin bushed anyone,” helium said. “We saw that successful 2022 wherever Nigeria bushed successful the radical Australia and past Australia got the bronze medal. We saw it successful the qualifier, wherever USA was trailing Belgium for 39 minutes.”
WNBA coaching histrion successful Berlin
Many existent and erstwhile WNBA coaches are heading up teams successful the World Cup.
Mike Thibault is successful complaint of Belgium portion Sandy Brondello is heading up Australia again. Her husband, Olaf Lange, took implicit Germany and volition pb the big nation. Former Phoenix Mercury manager Corey Gaines is starring Japan and Chicago Sky adjunct Rena Wakama is erstwhile again successful complaint of Nigeria.
The Americans are led by Lawson with WNBA caput coaches Nate Tibbetts, Natalie Nakase and Stephanie White serving arsenic assistants. Jose Fernandez is simply a scout for the team.
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