2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup preview: how to watch, favorites and a dark horse
Sixteen teams, one host city and a Team USA banking on depth to chase a fifth straight title in Berlin, Germany, where the tournament opens September 4 and runs through September 13. Photo Credit: FIBA
The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup returns for its 20th edition on September 4, with Berlin hosting through September 13. Sixteen national teams qualified this time, four more than the 12-team field that competed in 2022. The United States arrives as the four-time defending champion after beating China 83-61 in the last final, and the two sides could meet again in the group stage: Team USA landed in Group D alongside Czechia, Italy and China, setting up a potential rematch of that 2022 title game.
Where to watch, and who USA Basketball is missing
US fans can find every game on HBO Max, which streams all 36 matches of the tournament. TNT and truTV will air 17 games, including every US game, according to Sports Media Watch. In France, beIN Sports will broadcast the entire tournament, while TF1 has acquired the rights to air France’s national team games free-to-air. Internationally, FIBA’s own Courtside 1891 platform, available via DAZN, streams the World Cup live and on demand, though blackouts may apply in certain territories. A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum will now miss the tournament for health reasons — Kelsey Plum is also out for the rest of the 2026 WNBA season — and Sonia Citron has been added to the roster.
Five favorites and a dark horse worth tracking
Sportsbooks still see this as a heavy USA favorite. DraftKings lists the Americans at -400, according to Yahoo Sports, a price that reflects the Americans’ bid for a fifth straight title even after the late roster shuffle.
United States
Napheesa Collier is on the Team USA roster even without Wilson and Plum. Collier is a five-time WNBA All-Star and was named WNBA All-Star Game MVP in 2025, and she was named to the 2026 USA Basketball Women’s National Team roster, according to Yahoo Sports.
Australia
Australia is priced at +1600 on Covers.com and as high as +2000 elsewhere, arriving fresh off winning the 2025 Women’s Asia Cup. Ezi Magbegor anchors that group defensively: she’s a three-time WNBA All-Defensive Second Team member and a 2024 WNBA All-Defensive First Team pick, and Basketball Australia has called her one of the Opals’ most important players heading into this World Cup.
Belgium
Belgium rounds out the traditional top tier after winning EuroBasket Women 2025, edging Spain 67-65 in the final. Emma Meesseman, a two-time FIBA Women’s EuroBasket MVP, is the player FIBA has already tabbed as Belgium’s centerpiece heading into Berlin. Point guard Julie Allemand rounds out that core, averaging 5.6 assists per game in WNBA play this season and representing Belgium as the team’s primary floor general.
France
France has emerged as a fourth genuine contender. Yahoo Sports prices them at +800 and describes them as playing with “a chip on their shoulders,” pointing to Gabby Williams as an anchor. Williams, who led France in points, assists and steals at the Paris Olympics, pairs with Malonga in a duo Chiney Ogwumike views as a major threat to Team USA. France is drawn in Group B with Nigeria, South Korea and Hungary.
Spain
Spain rounds out the field of favorites on the strength of its veteran core. FIBA ranks the Spaniards sixth in the FIBA World Ranking and calls them “slight favorites” in Group A, led by the “legendary” Alba Torrens, for a team drawn with Japan, Germany and Mali.
China is the dark horse to watch. The 2022 runner-up shares Group D with the very team that beat it in the last final, and the storyline writes itself: any rematch — group stage or later — would carry the weight of that 83-61 result from 2022.
Germany’s presence adds another layer to the tournament’s backdrop: this marks the country’s second time hosting the event, after 1998, and the broader European contingent has grown too — eight of the 16 teams in Berlin come from Europe, a new high for a single edition of the event. Canada’s absence stands out on the other side of that ledger: the 2022 fourth-place finisher, ranked seventh in the world, failed to qualify for the first time since 2002.
The tournament runs 10 days in total, from September 4 through September 13. Team USA opens group play against China on September 4, then faces Italy on September 6 and Czechia on September 7.
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