Top Players to Watch at the World Cup in Berlin
Kara Lawson barely paused to count the absences.
A’ja Wilson, the reigning World Cup MVP and the dominant force of the Paris Olympics, is out. Kelsey Plum, the fearless closer who poured in 12 crucial points in that gold-medal game, is out too. For most nations, that’s a crisis. For Team USA’s head coach, it’s a reality to be managed, not mourned.
“We don't have time to be worried about who's not here,” Lawson said. The message is clear: the rest of the world has closed the gap, and this World Cup in Berlin will be a fight, not a coronation.
Wilson’s résumé is staggering — four straight World Cup titles for the U.S., MVP in 2022, Olympic MVP in Paris — but the Americans arrive in Germany with a new look and the same expectation: win it all against a field that has never been deeper. Sixteen teams, the best players on the planet, and a host of stars ready to challenge the defending champions.
Here are the 10 players most likely to shape what happens next.
10. Han Xu, China
A tower at 6-foot-9 with touch to match, Han Xu returns for her third World Cup with a growing reputation and a bigger role.
She earned Player of the Game honors against Brazil at the World Cup qualifier in Wuhan, averaging 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds there. Her size draws the eye, but it’s her shooting that stretches defenses and unlocks China’s offense.
She won’t be Team USA’s only headache in the opener. China also rolls out 6-7 Dallas Wings center Li Yueru and 19-year-old Zhang Ziyu, listed at 7-2 and already looming as a 2027 WNBA draft storyline. Against that front line, every rebound will feel like a negotiation.
9. Megan DiLeo, Spain
Spain sits third in FIBA’s latest power rankings for a reason, and Megan DiLeo is at the heart of it.
The 6-4 center dominated the 2024 Paris Olympics for Spain, leading the team in scoring (18.0 points per game) and rebounding (9.3). She has carried that form into the best WNBA season of her career with the Portland Fire, arriving in Berlin as a player in full bloom.
This will be her World Cup debut, but she won’t be easing in. DiLeo anchors a young, ambitious group that includes Awa Fam and Maria Conde. If Spain is going to live up to that No. 3 billing, it starts with DiLeo winning battles in the paint and setting a physical tone from the opening tip.
8. Julie Allemand, Belgium
Emma Meesseman is the name most fans know from Belgium. Julie Allemand is the engine they can’t function without.
The 5-10 Toronto Tempo guard comes into Berlin as one of the premier point guards in the tournament, fresh off an MVP performance at the 2026 World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Wuhan. She averaged 9.4 points, 5.6 assists and 3.4 steals there, dictating tempo and tearing passing lanes apart.
Her seven-steal outburst against South Sudan set an all-time single-game record in World Cup Qualifiers and punched Belgium’s ticket. At club level, she claimed EuroLeague Women Final Six MVP honors while steering Fenerbahçe to the 2025-26 title. With Belgium, she has been central to EuroBasket golds in 2023 and 2025, earning All-Star Five recognition both times.
If Belgium makes a deep run, Allemand will be the one with the ball, the clock, and the game in her hands.
7. Mai Yamamoto, Japan
At 5-4, Mai Yamamoto shouldn’t control games the way she does. Yet she keeps doing it.
A rising favorite with Las Vegas Aces fans, Yamamoto is already a seasoned international veteran with seven senior FIBA tournaments on her record, including the 2022 World Cup and 2024 Olympics. In Paris, she scored 17 points with 3 rebounds and 5 assists in Japan’s opening 102-76 loss to Team USA, refusing to shrink against the giants.
Her calling card is that two-handed jumper from deep. It’s quick, repeatable, and lethal. She shot 64% from three in the 2024 Olympic qualifying tournament and 50% from beyond the arc at the World Cup qualifier in San Juan. Leave her an inch of daylight, and she turns it into three points.
Japan’s recent history — gold at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup, silver in 2023 — shows a program that expects to contend. Yamamoto is the guard who makes that belief look justified.
6. Ezi Magbegor, Australia
Australia wants a third straight podium finish on the global stage, and Ezi Magbegor stands right at the center of that ambition.
The 6-4 Seattle Storm big closed the Paris Olympics with a game that will live in record books: 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting, 13 rebounds, and the all-time single-game efficiency mark in women’s Olympic basketball, delivered in the bronze-medal clash. It was the performance of a player fully aware of her own power.
Magbegor runs the floor, protects the rim, and punishes mismatches. On a stage like this, that combination can tilt entire tournaments. If Australia climbs onto the podium again, it will likely be on the back of nights where Magbegor controls both ends.
5. Leonie Fiebich, Germany
For the host nation, Leonie Fiebich is not just important. She’s essential.
The 6-4 New York Liberty forward brings an elite two-way package, a long-range stroke that can break games open, and the kind of versatility that lets Germany adapt to any matchup. She powered Germany’s Olympic qualification run with 18.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, then made a historic debut at the 2024 Games.
Playing at home adds weight and opportunity. Berlin will expect. Fiebich has the game to answer.
4. Caitlin Clark, USA
Caitlin Clark arrives at her first World Cup as the most famous player in the tournament. That spotlight is earned, not gifted.
The Indiana Fever star was named MVP of the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, even though she started just one of Team USA’s five games. She didn’t need heavy minutes to leave a heavy imprint, leading the team with 58 points and 32 assists as the U.S. rolled through undefeated.
Her range stretches defenses to absurd distances. Her passing warps how opponents guard every action. On a roster missing Wilson and Plum, Clark’s creativity and shot-making become even more valuable.
The World Cup has seen plenty of American guards arrive with hype. Few have entered with this level of global attention — and this much responsibility from day one.
3. Gabby Williams, France
Gabby Williams walks into Berlin with a glittering trophy cabinet and one haunting memory.
The Golden State Valkyries star captured the Alain Gilles Trophy in 2024 as France’s best player, then added FIBA Europe SuperCup MVP honors while guiding Fenerbahçe to the FIBA Europe title. Her European résumé is stacked: EuroLeague championship, Final Four MVP, two EuroLeague Defensive Player of the Year awards, Turkish Presidential Cup titles.
Yet the image that lingers is from Paris. Olympic final. France vs. USA. Williams led all scorers with 19 points, and with the game on the line, she launched a potential buzzer-beater to force overtime. It was ruled a two instead of a three. France lost 67-66.
That kind of ending leaves a mark. It also sharpens edges. Williams arrives at this World Cup as a 5-11 forward with elite defensive instincts, a complete offensive game, and the motivation that only heartbreak can provide.
2. Emma Meesseman, Belgium
There are stars at this World Cup. Emma Meesseman is something different: a proven winner at almost every level she’s touched.
For Belgium, the New York Liberty forward has become synonymous with success. She has multiple EuroBasket titles, back-to-back Women’s EuroBasket MVPs, and two crowns with the Belgian Cats. Most recently, she led Belgium to the 2025 FIBA Women's EuroBasket title and again walked away with tournament MVP honors.
Her impact stretches across continents. In the WNBA, she was Finals MVP in 2019 with the Washington Mystics, a reminder that on the biggest stages, she doesn’t just participate — she decides outcomes.
At 33, Meesseman has nothing left to prove, except one thing: she has never stood on the top step of a World Cup podium. That missing gold is the target now.
1. Breanna Stewart, USA
No Wilson. No problem? That’s a dangerous assumption. But if anyone can steady Team USA in her absence, it’s Breanna Stewart.
The New York Liberty forward has lived in the rare air of the sport for so long that history now chases her. Sue Bird is the only women’s player ever to win four World Cup titles. If the U.S. lifts the trophy in Berlin, Stewart will join her.
Her global résumé already glows. Stewart was MVP of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic tournament. She claimed World Cup MVP in 2018 and could become the first player ever to win that honor twice. She made the All-Star Five at the 2022 World Cup and again at the 2024 Paris Olympics, a model of sustained excellence on the biggest stages.
At 6-3, Stewart bends defenses with her shooting, length, and feel for the game. She is the anchor, the constant, the one Lawson can lean on as the Americans navigate a field that has never been more dangerous.
The world is coming. The gap has closed. Wilson and Plum are watching from afar. In Berlin, it’s on this new cast of stars — and on Stewart at the helm — to decide whether Team USA’s era of dominance continues or finally cracks.
