What to know about Team USA and the World Cup women’s basketball field as play begins

The FIBA World Cup tips off on Friday with a 16-team field. More than 50 WNBA players, who are on a two-week break from the league, will take part in the competition as the United States seeks its fifth consecutive title, and 15 other federations attempt to dethrone the champs.

Here’s what to know as play begins:

What is on the line for the USA?

It’s hard to overstate the Americans’ dominance in international competition. Since the creation of the WNBA, Team USA is undefeated in the Olympics — only three wins have come by single digits since 1996 — and it has lost only once in the world championships, which led to a third-place finish in 2006. The Americans have cleaned up at the four world championships since, with double-figure victories in every game but one during that stretch.

Even without A’ja Wilson on this year’s roster, Team USA still has the best individual player in the tournament (whether you consider that to be Breanna Stewart, Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier or someone else, it’s an American) and the best collection of talent. It would be a considerable upset for the Americans to be beaten. Four of Team USA’s closest contests during the last 20 years, including the one loss, came to Russia, but that program has fallen off. Since its decline, no true basketball rival has emerged for the United States.

USA Basketball heavily values international tournaments, from the youth level onward. It’s why the WNBA, which is the world’s premier basketball league, would take a break right before the postseason to accommodate the World Cup and why the best players in this league are eschewing a break of their own to compete. Success on the global stage matters.

How will the young American roster look?

For all of the skill Team USA brings to the table, it lost a lot of experience when Wilson (Las Vegas Aces) and Kelsey Plum (Phoenix Mercury) opted out of the tournament due to injuries. The pair have each competed in two Olympics and two World Cups, and Wilson has been the Americans’ leading scorer at the last three major international competitions.

Without that duo, Team USA is left with three players with World Cup experience; Breanna Stewart is suiting up for the fourth time, while Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper both were on the 2022 roster. Only five players have represented the U.S. in five-on-five at a senior tournament (Rhyne Howard played 3×3 at the last Olympics). The team is so green that four players haven’t even appeared in a WNBA playoff game.

Even the coaching staff is a little inexperienced at the international level. Duke coach Kara Lawson has come up through USA Basketball. She coached the inaugural 3×3 team in Tokyo, was an assistant during the last cycle under Cheryl Reeve and won the AmeriCup in 2025 with a roster of college players. But this is the first rodeo for the assistants: Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White, Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts and Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase. It will be interesting to see how these coaches respond to game pressure; none has been the head coach of a WNBA or NCAA champion.

During the qualifying tournament, the U.S. tended to start its veterans even though the minutes were relatively evenly distributed. Although Clark started one game, she played enough to earn MVP of the event. Lawson is expected to pick a more experienced starting five — something that includes Stewart, Gray and Copper plus one more guard and a center.

This is an opportunity for Stewart to assert herself as a leader. She has more international experience than just about all of her teammates combined, and she was the MVP of this tournament in 2018. Stewart and Wilson have been the co-stewards of this era of USA Basketball, but the New York Liberty superstar is the only one in Berlin.

What other countries are in medal contention?

Australia has been the most consistently competitive team in international competitions over the past two decades, and it finished third in the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics. The Opals have eight WNBA players, six of whom are currently meaningful rotation players: Alanna Smith (Dallas Wings), Rebecca Allen (Liberty), Ezi Magbegor (Seattle Storm), Jade Melbourne (Storm), Isobel Borlase (Atlanta Dream) and Stephanie Talbot (Aces). What Australia is missing is a singular offensive engine; it’s unclear how the Opals can manufacture quality offense in the half court, even if their defensive upside is as good as anyone in the tournament.

Belgium has been the class of the European teams, winners of the last two EuroBasket competitions. Forward Emma Meesseman, the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP who has played only two full WNBA seasons since, always brings it for her national team. Her skill in the post as a passing hub and a scorer is near-unmatched, and she is flanked by two dynamic guards in Julie Allemand (Toronto Tempo) and Julie Vanloo, who are willing creators and attackers.

Mike Thibault is a veteran coach (the second-winningest in WNBA history) who spent time with Meesseman on the Washington Mystics and has been an assistant at the Olympics. The Belgians have something of an it factor, too — they won the 2025 European championship in regulation despite trailing Spain by 12 with 2:42 to play.

Is France the main challenger to Team USA?

One caveat to Belgium’s 2025 victory was that the French essentially punted on the tournament. Gabby Williams, Marine Johannès and Dominique Malonga all stayed with their WNBA teams instead of reporting. The last time France had a full roster was at the Paris Olympics 2024, when the home team was one foot away from taking Team USA to overtime in the gold-medal game.

France has an impressive collection of perimeter talent. Among Williams (Valkyries), Carla Leite (Portland Fire) and Pauline Astier (Liberty), several guards can blow by their initial defender and break down a defense. Leite is one week removed from giving Angel Reese and Howard fits in Atlanta, while Astier has tormented the Fever duo of Clark and Aliyah Boston. This is a guard group that will demand that the U.S. defend on a string, which is a tricky thing for a 12-player roster that hasn’t ever played together. They are mostly good defenders, too. A backcourt of Williams and Leïla Lacan can cause discomfort for even the American stars.

The French have great spacing throughout their lineup. Johannès and Janelle Salaün (Valkyries) are some of the most willing shooters in the world, and their unorthodox shot releases keep good defense from deterring them. Salaün relishes a contest on her 3-pointer and shoots better with a defender in her face.

France isn’t as imposing in the frontcourt, though Salaün and Malonga are a devastating starting combo with the former’s shooting and the latter’s rim-running. Malonga is also one of the better paint protectors in the entire tournament. Team USA will need to have success from beyond the arc to break France’s defense.

What other teams should we keep an eye on?

Nigeria has quietly given Team USA trouble in recent competitions. It lost by nine to the Americans in the 2020 Olympics group stage and by 14 in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Olympics. Rena Wakama, a current Unrivaled head coach and Chicago Sky assistant, has done a fantastic job establishing a team culture for Nigeria. The group moves the ball well, plays hard and uses its athleticism effectively.

China is the biggest team in the tournament, though it took a sizable hit when 6-foot-7 Li Yueru (Wings) was ruled out due to passport issues. Nevertheless, in addition to 6-11 Han Xu (Liberty), keep an eye on 7-3 Zhang Ziyu. The 19-year-old center is eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft and could improve her stock with a strong showing in Berlin. Unfortunately, the less said about China’s guards, the better; their main job is to get the ball past half court without turning it over and then feed the bigs.

Spain has the most active WNBA players (five) among remaining teams, including Storm rookie Awa Fam. An especially intriguing player to watch is Iyana Martín, the Fire’s first-round pick, who will be coming stateside next season. Martín has a phenomenal track record at junior competitions, including winning MVP of the 2023 U-19 World Cup when Spain lost in the finals’ overtime to the U.S. That group is all grown up, and this is now Martín’s first foray at the senior level, where she has just the right amount of flair and playmaking verve to complement the rock-solid production of Megan DiLeo (Fire) in the paint.

Awa Fam, a rookie with the Seattle Storm, can have a major impact on helping Spain make a run. (Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)

How do we watch the tournament?

Every Team USA game will be on TNT or truTV, and the entire tournament can be streamed on HBO Max.

Which WNBA players are competing?