Team USA Begins Quest for Fifth Straight FIBA Women’s World Cup Title
Team USA’s chase for a fifth straight FIBA Women’s World Cup crown starts now, with all the weight and expectation that comes with a dynasty.
The Americans open Group D play against China on Friday, Sept. 4, in a preliminary round-robin that also includes Italy and Czechia. It’s the first step in a campaign that has become almost routine in outcome, but never in pressure: the U.S. has claimed nine of the last 12 FIBA Women’s World Cups, including the last four in a row.
This edition has a different feel. A new voice on the sideline. New faces in the spotlight.
Kara Lawson takes the reins as head coach, leading a roster that showcases the next wave of American stars. Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers headline a group built to keep the U.S. at the top of the sport while ushering in a new era of celebrity and style. The names are younger, but the standard hasn’t moved an inch.
The path, though, is already a little more complicated than planned.
Team USA must navigate this World Cup without four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, the centerpiece of the 2022 title run and MVP of that tournament, and sharp-shooting guard Kelsey Plum. Both miss the event in Germany because of health reasons, stripping the Americans of two of their most experienced and explosive weapons. It’s a blow to depth, leadership and late-game reliability.
China's Situation
China arrives in Berlin dealing with its own upheaval. The 2022 World Cup silver medalists will be without Dallas Wings center Li Yueru, a two-time Olympian and a pillar of their frontcourt. Her absence isn’t tactical or injury-related; a lost passport in the mail has blocked her from traveling to Germany and kept her out of the tournament entirely. For a team that leaned on her size and experience two years ago, it’s a brutal twist before a ball is even tipped.
Even with those absences, the stakes of the opener are clear. Group D offers little margin for error. The winner of each group goes straight to the quarterfinals on Thursday, Sept. 10. Second- and third-place finishers are forced into a Playoff Qualification Round on Tuesday, Sept. 8, fighting for the last four quarterfinal spots. One off night can turn a smooth path into a minefield.
The schedule doesn’t let up for the U.S., either. After China, Lawson’s team faces Italy on Sunday, Sept. 6, and Czechia on Monday, Sept. 7. Three games in four days, all with seeding and rhythm on the line.
Fans in the United States won’t have to hunt for coverage. TNT holds exclusive English-language TV rights, with every one of the tournament’s 36 games streaming on HBO Max. Seventeen contests, including every U.S. game, will air on TNT and truTV, bringing the full World Cup arc — from group play to the final — into living rooms across the country.
The opener against China is set for 8:15 a.m. ET (5:15 a.m. PT) on Friday, Sept. 4. The venue is Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin, a long way from home for a team used to being the measuring stick wherever it goes.
From there, the knockout rounds loom. Quarterfinals on Sept. 10. Semifinals on Saturday, Sept. 12, on TBS and truTV. Then the third-place game and the final on Sunday, Sept. 13, on TNT and truTV, when someone will be standing on top of the world again.
The question is simple, and ruthless: can this younger, reshaped Team USA keep the gold run alive without its most decorated star, or is Berlin where the dynasty finally feels the strain?
