Team USA Faces Unbeaten Italy in World Cup Showdown
The stage lights stay hot on Team USA in Berlin. After tearing through China in a statement opening win, the Americans return to the floor on Sunday, September 6, against an Italy side that has no intention of playing the supporting role.
Both teams arrive at Berlin Arena unbeaten in Group D. Only one will leave with a clear path toward the quarterfinals.
Tipoff times and how to watch
USA vs Italy is set for an 8:45 p.m. local start in Berlin, slotted as the third Group D game of the day. That translates to 2:45 p.m. ET and 11:45 a.m. PT for viewers back in the United States.
American fans can watch the game live on TNT, with streaming available on HBO Max. Current listings in the U.S. confirm TNT’s national broadcast for Team USA’s second outing of the tournament.
USA riding the wave of a ruthless opener
The United States wasted no time reminding everyone why it arrived in Germany as the favorite.
A 94-61 dismantling of China in the opener extended the Americans’ remarkable World Cup winning streak and sent a sharp message to the rest of the field. The game was decided long before the final buzzer; the margin, and the manner of it, told the story.
Caitlin Clark orchestrated the blowout with 14 points and 11 assists, controlling the tempo and carving open China’s defense. Paige Bueckers matched her 14 points, adding another polished layer to a backcourt that already looks in sync.
It was exactly the kind of performance coach Kara Lawson would have wanted to launch a campaign loaded with expectation: dominant, efficient, and shared across the roster.
Now comes the next step—turning one emphatic win into a rhythm.
Italy brings a different problem
Italy will not roll out the same look or style that China did. It arrives with confidence of its own after beating Czechia in its opening group game, a result that immediately tightened the margins in Group D.
This is where the format raises the stakes.
Only the winner of each four-team group goes straight to the quarterfinals. Second and third place must survive an extra qualification round. Every group game carries weight, and this one sits right near the top of that scale.
For Team USA, Italy offers a different kind of examination: a team that already has a win, already has belief, and understands that an upset here would transform its tournament.
Chemistry now, trophies later
For Lawson and her staff, Sunday is about more than the standings. It is another chance to build combinations, sharpen roles, and harden habits before the group finale against Czechia.
The core ambition remains the same as always: another world championship to add to decades of dominance in this competition. But that kind of supremacy is built in games like this one, when a heavily favored team has to maintain its edge and stretch its standard.
The Americans enter at 1-0. Italy does too. Berlin Arena hosts the collision, TNT carries it across the United States, and the winner walks away with control of Group D—and a clearer road to the only stage that really matters.
