THE US national team puts its win streak on the line as the 2026 women’s Fiba World Cup gets rolling from Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, to Sunday, Sept. 13, in Berlin, Germany, with 16 teams competing for glory.
The US women’s team has won 30 straight games in the tournament and is gunning for its fifth straight championship.
The last time the US team lost was in the 2006 semifinals against Russia.
The team will feature a young group of players, including Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers, who are making their debuts in the event.
Veteran Breanna Stewart, who has already won three Olympic and three World Cup championships, leads the squad in the quest for a five-peat.
The team in close contest with the Americans this year would be France, who only lost by one point in the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal game.
Other teams that could be a threat to end the US streak include Spain, Belgium and China. The Chinese team lost to the Americans in the 2022 World Cup final.
The 16 teams were put into four groups and each will have a round-robin stage. The second- and third-place teams in each group will advance to a qualification round, while the winner of the pool will advance to the quarterfinals.
The four winners of the qualification rounds will then advance to the quarterfinals as well.
Since more than 50 players from the Women’s National Basketball Association are competing in the World Cup, the league is being paused from Aug. 31 to Sept. 16. / RSC
