The 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup semifinals are set for Saturday at Berlin Arena: France vs. host Germany and the United States vs. Spain.
France and Germany have never reached a World Cup final, so one of them will play in its first on Sunday. The Americans are two wins away from a fifth straight title. Spain has never beaten them at a World Cup.
1. United States
The last World Cup game the Americans lost was the 2006 semifinal against Russia. They have won 34 straight at the tournament since.
Thursday's quarterfinal against Hungary ended 108-56, a tournament record for points in a quarterfinal. The old mark of 106 came in a 2010 game against South Korea. No team had handed out more than 30 assists at that stage until the U.S. finished with 31.
Four days earlier, Italy held the Americans to 55 points. Its 2-3 zone kept them at 29% from the field and 1-of-12 from 3-point range, and Breanna Stewart missed her first eight shots before a jumper with 3:20 left put the U.S. ahead 51-50 for good. The game ended 55-52. It was the lowest total for the U.S. in a World Cup win since it beat Australia 42-38 in 1967.
Angel Reese gets the steal, runs the floor and dishes to Caitlin Clark!
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) September 10, 2026
USA WON BY 52!! pic.twitter.com/C2GEmEegd7
Stewart returned the next day with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, helping secure a 105-64 victory over Czechia. In three group games, the U.S. team made only 29% of its 3-pointers. However, against Hungary, they made 12 3-pointers with a 52% shooting rate, tying the program's World Cup record from 2002.
USA Basketball ruled out A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum for health reasons before the tournament and replaced them with Washington Mystics teammates Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron. Before the opener, U.S. coach Kara Lawson said she expected this to be "the most difficult World Cup to win that we've had."
Caitlin Clark has come off the bench behind an all-veteran starting five and is averaging 7 assists. Jackie Young leads Team USA with 11 points per game.
2. France
France is 4-0 and has outscored its opponents by 156 points, 27 more than the U.S. over the same number of games.
The Nigeria game on Sept. 7 set a record, as France hit 22 3-pointers in a 111-56 victory. This is the most 3-pointers by any team in a World Cup game. France finished 22-of-40 from beyond the arc. Gabby Williams scored 25 points, making 6 of 8 3-pointers, while Marine Johannès contributed with 5 3-pointers.
Over four games, France has shot 61.4% on 2-pointers and 45.7% from 3-point range. Opponents are making 27.6% of their 3s.
And now Marine Johannès is hitting NO-LOOK THREES!!! pic.twitter.com/sbJI98qpRI https://t.co/9Hr5uCbKpR
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) September 10, 2026
France had lost all six of its previous World Cup quarterfinals before Thursday's 90-61 win over China. Two French defenders met 7-foot-3 Zhang Ziyu every time she caught the ball, and the 19-year-old did not score in her 7 minutes, 18 seconds of first-half play. France pulled down 19 offensive rebounds. China turned it over 20 times, and the French finished with 79 shot attempts to China's 50.
Johannès and Janelle Salaün each scored 15 points. Williams added 14 and Leila Lacan 12. After the win, Williams said France came to Berlin with a big goal but that it was "great to check this off the list."
France's only World Cup medal came in 1953, when it finished third at the first tournament. Two years ago in Paris, it lost the Olympic gold-medal game to the U.S. by one point.
Team USA stays ahead of the remaining two teams based who they have played in Berlin. The Americans beat China by 33 and Hungary by 52. France beat China by 29 and Hungary by 46.
3. Germany
Germany lost its first game at its home World Cup 83-53 to Spain on Sept. 4 and never held a lead. It has won four straight since then by a combined 98 points.
Japan came into the second game a day removed from setting a World Cup record with 20 3-pointers against Mali. Against Germany, it went 3-of-27 from deep and lost 74-58. Leonie Fiebich of the New York Liberty spoke with reporters afterward, emphasizing the importance of the 3-point line to their game plan.
"We know Japan shoots more 3s than 2s, so we took away the 3," Fiebich said. "Our goal was to be physical with them."
Mali fell 83-58 and South Korea 94-56 after that.
GERMANY PULL OFF THE UPSET AND ADVANCE TO THE #FIBAWWC SEMI-FINALS IN FRONT OF MORE THAN 10.000 FANS! pic.twitter.com/EAZHBhat9E
— FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWWC) September 10, 2026
Belgium arrived Thursday unbeaten and as the reigning European champion. Germany won 93-74 and took all four quarters. It shot 48% to Belgium's 42% and made 87% of its free throws. Fiebich had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Nyara Sabally added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Attendance at Berlin Arena was 10,537.
"I couldn't have wished for more, especially in Germany," Sabally said.
Germany coach Olaf Lange called Thursday the "best day in German basketball." All of it has come without Satou Sabally, Nyara's older sister and a New York Liberty forward, who withdrew Aug. 19 while recovering from a concussion sustained June 23 against Las Vegas.
FIBA has Germany averaging 46.2 rebounds per game to France's 39.5. France beat Germany 84-71 in the Paris Olympic quarterfinals and 85-63 at a qualifier in Lyon-Villeurbanne in March.
Putting Germany third means getting past the head-to-head. Spain won the opener by 30, and Germany is 0-8 against Spain in competitive games. Germany's only loss in Berlin came against a semifinalist, though. Spain's came against Mali, which finished last in Group A.
4. Spain
Spain beat Germany by 30 on Sept. 4 behind 17 points from Awa Fam, a 20-year-old Seattle Storm rookie. A day later, Mali beat Spain 82-73 by outscoring it 31-19 in the third quarter. Sika Koné of the Atlanta Dream had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Spain beat Japan 79-59 on Sept. 7 and took Group A on the head-to-head tiebreaker with Germany. Iyana Martín scored 20 points, and Fam had 16 points and 10 rebounds. After that game, Martín passed a question about her own performance to Spain coach Miguel Mendez.
"I don't like to talk about a single player," said Mendez. "But I can say that she's a special person. Not just a special person, a special player."
Martín leads Spain at 16.5 points and 3.3 assists per game. The Portland Fire took her in the first round of the 2026 draft, and she is expected to join the WNBA next season.
This is how much Awa Fam wants it 😤#FIBAWWC | @BaloncestoESP pic.twitter.com/EzNZNpf5R6
— FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWWC) September 7, 2026
Thursday's 89-66 win over Australia was Spain's highest-scoring knockout game in World Cup history. Megan DiLeo of the Portland Fire led Spain with 16 points, Martín scored 14, and Washington Mystics guard Alicia Florez had 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Australia was without Ezi Magbegor, who tore her right ACL in a win over Italy, and Alanna Smith, who re-aggravated a leg injury at the start of the tournament.
Spain has played the U.S. five times at the World Cup, including the 2010 semifinals and the 2014 final, and FIBA puts the average margin at 24 points. Alba Torrens played in that 2014 final and is on this roster. At a qualifier in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in March, the U.S. won 84-70.
FIBA has the U.S. averaging 17.3 fast-break points and 48.8 bench points per game. Spain is averaging 8.8 fast-break points and 29 off the bench.
Women's World Cup Semifinal Schedule
France and Germany tip off at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, and the United States and Spain follow at 2 p.m. ET on TBS.
The bronze-medal game is set for 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday. The final follows at 2 p.m. ET.
