Germany Secures Commanding Win Over Mali in Group Stage
The first notes of "Through the Monsoon" rolled around Uber Arena and Germany’s players bounced into view, feeding off 12,550 voices. It felt like a statement even before the ball went up. By the end, the message was loud and clear.
Germany 83, Mali 58. A commanding win, a second place in Group A, and a straight path into a qualification clash with South Korea for a place in the quarter-finals.
From group chaos to control
This was a group that began the day on a knife-edge. All four teams sat on three points, everyone with one win and one defeat. Germany could finish top. They could crash to fourth. Nothing in between.
Spain’s 79-59 victory over Japan in the parallel game closed the door on first place, but Olaf Lange’s team never let that shift the mood. They still had their own job to finish – and they did it with authority.
After the heavy 53-83 loss to Spain in the opener and the strong response against Japan (74-58), the equation was simple: win again, and win well. Frieda Bühner, who had led the scoring against Japan, had set the tone beforehand: Germany had to be the aggressor from the start.
They were.
Fast start, brief wobble
Backed courtside by world champion and national team captain Dennis Schröder, the hosts came out sharp. The defence smothered Mali early, Leonie Fiebich drilled a three, and Germany raced to a 15-7 lead by the sixth minute. The arena responded with the kind of noise usually reserved for knockout games.
Then the rhythm slipped. A scrappy patch crept in, mistakes piling up. Alexis Peterson, returning after missing the second half against Japan due to an infection, twice turned the ball over in quick succession. For a moment, the game threatened to open up.
Germany didn’t let it.
Bühner shines, Geiselsöder erupts
If the first two games had been about finding themselves, this one felt like a coming-out performance for Luisa Geiselsöder. The WNBA player, quiet so far in the tournament, finally imposed herself. She did not miss a shot in the first half, giving Germany a reliable anchor inside and a constant target.
Around her, the confidence spread. Bühner, again, was electric. Her second consecutive three-pointer pushed Germany into their first double-digit lead at 40-29 in the 16th minute. By then, almost everything was dropping. Alexandra Wilke and Marie Gülich joined the outside shooting party, stretching Mali’s defence to breaking point.
Bühner kept coming and finished the night with 21 points, the game’s top scorer and the face of Germany’s attacking edge.
At half-time, with Germany firmly in control, Schröder summed up what everyone in the building could see: this team is getting better with every game, and the atmosphere is carrying them.
No let-up after the break
Mali arrived with a big scalp in their pocket after their stunning 82-73 win over Spain on the second matchday. They knew how to disrupt a favourite. They never got close to repeating it here.
Germany came out of the locker room with the same intensity, and Mali simply could not match the energy. Every defensive stop fed the transition. Every good look seemed to fall. The gap widened, the doubts disappeared.
Geiselsöder landed what felt like the decisive blow midway through the third quarter. Her three-pointer for 56-37 in the 25th minute didn’t just stretch the lead; it broke Mali’s resistance. She called it “really good basketball” afterwards. It looked like a player finally in full flow.
From there, Germany managed the game with maturity. No panic, no unnecessary drama, just solid, composed basketball in front of a crowd that sensed something building.
South Korea next – and then?
Second place in Group A now sends Germany into a qualification-round duel with South Korea, who finished third in Group B. Win that, and the reward is a quarter-final against Belgium, the European champions of 2023 and 2025 and the dominant force in Group C.
Lange’s side have already ridden out a heavy defeat, produced two convincing wins, and turned Uber Arena into a genuine home court. The development their coach spoke about is no longer just a hope. It’s on the scoreboard, and it’s in the way they carry themselves.
Now comes the real question: with South Korea standing between them and a shot at Europe’s best, how far can this surge actually take them?
