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Amir Azimi
Basketball

Team USA Begins Quest for Fifth FIBA Women’s World Cup Title

Team USA’s chase for a fifth straight FIBA Women’s World Cup crown starts now, with a familiar weight on its shoulders and a very new look on the floor.

The Americans open Group D play against China on Friday, Sept. 4, in Berlin, launching a campaign that has come to feel less like a tournament run and more like a dynasty check-in. Nine World Cup titles in the last 12 editions. Four in a row. This is the standard everyone else measures against.

A new generation, same expectations

This year’s USA squad arrives with a different kind of buzz. Kara Lawson takes the reins as head coach, guiding a roster built around the sport’s most talked-about young stars: Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers. They’re not just the future of the American game; they’re being asked to be its present on the world stage.

The assignment is clear. Group D features USA, China, Italy and Czechia in a preliminary round-robin. The group winner walks straight into the quarterfinals. Second and third place have to survive a Playoff Qualification Round just to get there. For a program that measures success only in gold, any detour would feel like a stumble.

Heavy losses before the first tip

The path to Berlin hasn’t been smooth. Team USA has taken two major hits before even stepping on the floor.

Four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, the engine of the 2022 World Cup run and that tournament’s MVP, is out due to health reasons. So is guard Kelsey Plum, another key piece from the last title team. Two proven winners, gone. Two security blankets, ripped away from a roster suddenly leaning even harder on its rising stars.

China has its own gut punch to absorb. Center Li Yueru, a two-time Olympian and a cornerstone of the Dallas Wings, won’t play after her passport was lost in the mail, preventing her from traveling to Berlin. It’s a bizarre, brutal twist for a player who helped drive China to silver in 2022 and was expected to anchor their frontcourt again.

Both teams now walk into the opener knowing they’re not at full strength. The margin for error tightens.

USA vs. China: When and where

The World Cup opener between USA and China tips off Friday, Sept. 4, at 8:15 a.m. ET (5:15 a.m. PT).

Despite an earlier mention of Dallas, the game will be played at Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin, the German capital serving as the backdrop for the start of another American title defense.

How to watch in the U.S.

TNT holds the exclusive U.S. English-language rights to the tournament. All 36 games will stream on HBO Max, with 17 of those also airing on TNT and truTV, including every USA game.

For the opener:

  • TV: TNT, truTV
  • Streaming: HBO Max

Team USA’s Group D schedule

The Americans face three games in four days to decide their fate in the group:

  • Friday, Sept. 4: USA vs. China | TNT, truTV, HBO Max (8 a.m. ET)
  • Sunday, Sept. 6: USA vs. Italy | TNT, HBO Max (2:30 p.m. ET)
  • Monday, Sept. 7: USA vs. Czechia | TNT, HBO Max (2:30 p.m. ET)

Win the group, and the road clears a bit. The group winner advances directly to the quarterfinals on Thursday, Sept. 10 (TNT, truTV).

Finish second or third, and there’s extra work: the Playoff Qualification Round on Tuesday, Sept. 8 (truTV) will decide the final four quarterfinal spots.

From there, the stakes only rise:

  • Semifinals: Saturday, Sept. 12 (TBS, truTV)
  • Third-place game and final: Sunday, Sept. 13 (TNT, truTV)

It’s a familiar climb for Team USA, but the cast is changing. Wilson and Plum are watching from afar. Clark, Reese and Bueckers are stepping into the light. The question now is simple and unforgiving: can this new wave keep the gold standard intact?

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