Paige Bueckers plays during the game at the 2026 FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament between USA and Senegal in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March 11, 2026, at Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot. (Photo by Edgardo Medina/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Team USA has won the last four FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cups and nine of the last 12. The United States owns a world-leading 11 overall World Cup titles and has been the most dominant team across the globe for the past two-plus decades.
Yet, that streak is on the line starting this week in Berlin.
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Not only does a new era of young WNBA stars make their World Cup debut, but the league’s most dominant player won’t be suited up for the first time since 2014.
And to make the pressure even greater, France’s 2024 Olympic gold-medal game performance tells us that they may have what it takes to knock out the Americans.
The 2026 FIBA World Cup tips off Labor Day weekend in Berlin, Germany, with preliminary round games. Quarterfinals are scheduled for Sept. 10, with semifinals on Sept. 12 and the gold-medal game on Sunday, Sept. 13.
Three former UConn women’s basketball stars will represent Team USA, while another former Husky will play for France and another for Hungary. One Connecticut native will suit up for Puerto Rico, and two members of the Connecticut Sun will also play for France and Turkey.
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Here’s what you need to know about the tournament:
Who’s playing
Three former UConn stars will take the court for Team USA: Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier and Paige Bueckers. Bueckers and Collier will make their World Cup debuts. While Collier played for Team USA in the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, this will be Bueckers’ first appearance for the U.S. in a major international competition.
Stewart, who helped lead the U.S. to gold in the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups, becomes just the third Team USA player and third former Husky to participate in four or more World Cups. The others are Sue Bird with five and Diana Taurasi with four.
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The Huskies are joined on Team USA’s roster by Aliyah Boston, Sonia Citron, Caitlin Clark, Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Rhyne Howard, Kiki Iriafen, Angel Reese and Jackie Young.
Citron and Iriafen were late additions Monday morning after Kelsey Plum and four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson pulled out due to health reasons. Team USA won the 2018 and 2022 World Cups with Wilson, as she was named the 2022 World Cup MVP and the 2024 Olympic MVP.
Bird, USA Basketball’s Women’s National Team managing director, selected the roster for the World Cup and Team USA’s coaching staff.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 01: United States’ Breanna Stewart holds the trophy in front of team-mates during the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Final match between USA and China at Sydney Superdome, on October 1, 2022, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Steve Christo – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Duke coach Kara Lawson will lead the U.S. and is assisted by Natalie Nakase (Golden State Valkyries head coach), Nate Tibbetts (Phoenix Mercury head coach) and Stephanie White (Indiana Fever head coach). Dallas Wings head coach Jose Fernandez and Duke associate head coach Tia Jackson will serve as scout coaches.
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The Huskies will also have representation on the rosters of Team France and Team Hungary. Gabby Williams will make her World Cup debut after having played for France in both the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. Dorka Juhász, who became the youngest player to win EuroLeague MVP this spring, will also make her World Cup debut for Hungary.
The Connecticut Sun will be represented by Leïla Lacan on Team France and Kennedy Burke on Team Turkey as both make their World Cup debuts. Connecticut, along with the rest of the WNBA, is on a league-wide break for the World Cup that runs through Sept. 16. Games resume on Sept. 17 with the Sun playing at Atlanta at 7:30 p.m.
New London native India Pagan, a two-time Olympian for Puerto Rico, will also make her World Cup debut this week in Berlin.
In total, 16 countries will compete in the World Cup: Japan, Spain, Germany, Mali, Hungary, South Korea, Nigeria, France, Belgium, Australia, Puerto Rico, Turkey, United States, Czechia, Italy and China.
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How to watch Team USA and former Huskies
All 36 games of the tournament will be streamed on HBO Max, while U.S. games will air on TNT and truTV. Playoff seeding will be established at the conclusion of preliminary games. The playoffs are single-elimination. Teams that finish top in their group after their preliminary games will advance automatically, while the second- and third-place finishers in each group will compete in the playoff qualification rounds.
Team USA is in Group D along with China, Italy and Czechia.
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Friday, Sept. 4: USA vs China at 8:15 a.m. ET on TNT and truTV
Friday, Sept. 4: Hungary (Juhász) vs France (Williams and Lacan) at 3 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 6: USA vs Italy at 2:45 p.m. ET on TNT
Monday, Sept. 7: USA vs Czechia at 2:30 p.m. on TNT
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Tuesday, Sept. 8: Playoff Qualification Round on truTV (time TBD)
Thursday, Sept. 10: Quarterfinals on TNT and truTV (time TBD)
Saturday, Sept. 12: Semifinals on TBS and truTV (time TBD)
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Sunday, Sept. 13: Third-place game at 10:30 a.m. and World Cup final at 2 p.m. on TNT and truTV
France’s #15 Gabby Williams holds the ball in front of USA’s #11 Napheesa Collier in the women’s Gold Medal basketball match between France and the USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 11, 2024. (Photo by Damien MEYER / AFP via Getty Images)
What’s on the line
Team USA is going for its fifth consecutive World Cup gold in Berlin. And even more impressive, the United States hasn’t lost a single game in either the World Cup or the Olympics since falling to Russia in the 2006 World Cup semifinals.
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In the World Cup alone, that’s 30 consecutive victories (a program record) across preliminary round play and playoffs. Team USA owns a 117-21 overall record in the World Cup and has finished undefeated in each of the last four World Cups. If the Americans do win gold this month, it’ll tie the event’s longest consecutive gold-medal streak — currently held by the Soviet Union, which won five straight titles from 1959 to 1975.
In the most recent World Cup, the U.S. set a World Cup record for most points scored and an American team record for largest win margin with a 145-69 victory over Korea
The most recent scare? Narrowly edging France, 67-66, in the 2024 Olympic Final. Williams’ buzzer-beater 3-point attempt for the upset win was ruled a two-point shot as her foot was on the line, giving the U.S. the victory.
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Led by Williams, Lacan, Seattle Storm star Dominique Malonga and New York Liberty star Marine Johannès, France will again be Team USA’s biggest threat in the World Cup. While France put up a fight in the Olympics, winning silver, it hasn’t had as much luck in the World Cup. The French last medaled in the World Cup in 1953, earning bronze. Since then, its best finish was fifth place in both the 2018 and 2006 World Cups.
