What Is the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026?
The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 runs from Sept. 4-13 in Berlin, Germany. Sixteen national teams enter a format that rewards group-stage results: each group winner advances directly to the quarterfinals, while the next eight teams go through a play-in round. For the United States, the event arrives with the most decorated roster in the world and, according to its coach, the hardest test on the international calendar.
The U.S. is listed in Group C with Puerto Rico, Italy, and Czechia, per FIBA's official tournament page. The available schedule has the Americans opening against China on Sept. 4, then facing Italy on Sept. 6 and Czechia on Sept. 7. The opener against China is loaded with history: the U.S. has never lost to China in 15 World Cup or Olympic meetings, including an 83-61 win in the 2022 World Cup final.
USA Basketball announced a 12-player squad that mixes perennial All-Stars with a wave of younger talent: Aliyah Boston, Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier, Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Rhyne Howard, Kelsey Plum, Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart, A'ja Wilson, and Jackie Young. Seven players are making their World Cup debuts: Boston, Bueckers, Clark, Collier, Howard, Reese, and Young. Head coach Kara Lawson will have assistant coaches Natalie Nakase, Nate Tibbetts, and Stephanie White alongside her.
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are part of that debut group. Their club matchups have drawn outsized attention, but the national team has already shown how they share the floor. At the qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico, according to Fox News, Clark was named MVP and Reese averaged a team-high in rebounds. In Berlin, they join a roster that has combined for 14 Olympic gold medals, nine World Cup golds, 58 WNBA All-Star appearances, 16 WNBA titles, and seven WNBA Rookie of the Year awards.
The United States has won four consecutive World Cup gold medals and carries a 30-game tournament win streak. A fifth straight title would be the program's 12th overall. The bigger context is scheduling: the WNBA is pausing its season for two weeks so its players can take part. That pause turns the World Cup into a genuine calendar centerpiece, not a summer afterthought. It also gives Berlin a chance to host the world's best players in the middle of a title chase.