A Fever Fan's Guide to the FIBA World Cup
Two years after Team USA brought home the gold in the 2024 Olympics, some of the WNBA's brightest stars and more will face off in Berlin, Germany, for the 20th edition of the FIBA Women's World Cup. The WNBA will pause for a multiple-week break before it continues its final stretch into the playoffs. Four games remain for the Fever before the postseason, their third appearance in a row and their second consecutive appearance under head coach Stephanie White.
What do Fever fans need to know before the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup? And who will be representing them on the world stage?
What is the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup?
The 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup is an international tournament featuring 16 teams competing from Sept. 4-13. The Fever will resume play shortly after with an away game against the Toronto Tempo on Sept. 18.
Four groups of four teams will duke it out in the opening round in the two-arena tournament hosted in the German capital. While group games will span from Sept. 4-7, quarter-finals qualification games, which include the 2nd- and 3rd-place teams from each group, will take place from Sept. 8-9. Each qualifying winner will advance to face a group winner in the quarter-finals, which will take place on Sept. 10. The semi-final games will tip off on Sept. 12, while the championship and third-place games will cap off the international series on Sept. 13.
Teams competed for qualifying spots in four tournaments based in France, China, Puerto Rico and Turkey last March. Other teams qualified by winning other international tournaments last year. Though it dominated in a qualifying tournament earlier this year, Team USA had already earned its qualifying place by defeating Brazil in the 2025 Women's AmeriCup after Vanderbilt star Mikayla Blakes scored 27 points in the gold-medal game. Belgium, Australia and Nigeria earned qualifying spots with wins in the 2025 EuroBasket, Asia Cup and Afrobasket tournaments, respectively.
The United States has won nine of the last 12 World Cups, including a 4-win streak that stretches back to the days of Fever legend Tamika Catchings and her illustrious international career. Team USA holds 11 golds in total, including its inaugural crown in 1953, while holding one silver and two bronze medals.
What Happened Last Time?
In short, the U.S. won.
Team USA carried its tradition of excellence in international play by earning its fourth gold medal in a row as it steamrolled its competition on its way to an 8-0 record. It would defeat its opponents by an average of about 43 points on the way to a resounding 83-61 victory over China in the tournament final. Australia would end with a bronze medal, while Canada would take fourth place in search of its first World Cup medal since 1986.
Team USA would reach the century mark three times during its 2022 tourney run, including in an astounding 145-point performance just four games in. Forward A'ja Wilson led the red, white and blue with about 17 points and 7.5 rebounds per game on her way to her second World Cup medal, while her Aces backcourt partner in guard Chelsea Gray pitched in a team-leading 5.3 assists per game.
Who's In It This Year?
Team USA will be made up of 12 WNBA standouts, including a handful of the league's rising young stars, when it heads to Berlin for its first bouts of the international tournament. A youthful roster will be complemented by proven winners at the international level, including three who earned the gold medal during the team's unstoppable 2022 run. New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart will return for the chance to win her fourth World Cup medal after winning her first alongside former Fever forward Candice Dupree in 2014.
Wilson and Phoenix Mercury guard Kelsey Plum, both of whom suited up for Team USA in its 2022 run, will no longer compete with the squad. They will be replaced by the Washington Mystics duo of Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, who have earned two All-Star selections apiece for a rapidly-rising Washington roster. Iriafen took the floor during the qualifiers last March, where she averaged just over five points and four rebounds per contest.
Notable Fever Names:
Caitlin Clark
Clark will suit up once more on the international stage after finding her groove alongside guard Kelsey Mitchell before the FIBA break with consecutive double-doubles in wins over the Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun. The 3rd-year guard last played alongside Fever forward Monique Billings in last March's qualifiers, or one month before Billings signed with Indiana after spending one season with the Golden State Valkyries.
Even with a handful of highlights from 2-point range, Clark found a confident role as a passer and a 3-point shooter during last March's qualifying tournaments, where she averaged five long-range attempts and two makes per game. Nine of her 34 total shot attempts came from inside the 3-point line. The 3-time All-Star carried over her passing prowess with a team-leading 6.4 assists per game. She logged 12 assists in the team's first game against Senegal while splashing home four 3-pointers on five tries.
Finding her groove once more in the fastbreak and off screens will be key in making the most out of her newest appearance on the international stage.
Aliyah Boston
Boston will join a frontcourt featuring the likes of Iriafen and Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese. Boston is no stranger to international play in both 5-on-5 and 3-on-3 settings. Her excellence includes a gold medal win in the 2021 FIBA Women's AmeriCup. The former No. 1 pick and 4-time All-Star was selected to play in the 2026 qualifying tournaments, but sat out from an injury she suffered during the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league season.
Stephanie White
White, now in the second year of her return to the Fever, will come back to USA Basketball as an assistant coach after joining a stacked staff in the 2026 qualifiers. She'll join now-head coach Kara Lawson, who was an accompanying coach during the qualifiers, on a staff featuring Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase and Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts. White first coached with Team USA on Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve's staff on the 2023 Women's Olympic Minicamp roster.
Who Will Team USA Take On In The Group Stage?
Team USA was paired with China, Italy and Czechia in Group D. The USA will tip off in three Group Stage games from Sept. 4-7 against one familiar opponent from the qualifiers and two new ones. All three of those games (and every USA contest) will be broadcast on TNT Sports and stream on HBO Max.
Group Stage Games:
USA v. China: Sept. 4, 8:15 a.m. EDT on TNT, truTV and HBO Max.
China took home a silver medal during the 2022 World Cup behind the play of centers Han Xu and Li Yueru, who paired up with former Mystics guard Li Meng to form a trifecta of double-digit scorers. Xu will return to the international scene after earning time in 40 games and two starts in her return to the Liberty.
USA v. Italy: Sept. 6, 2:45 p.m. EDT on TNT and HBO Max.
Italy qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1994 with a 4-1 record in the 2026 qualifiers. Its only loss came at the hands of Team USA, which defeated it in a 93-59 blowout behind five double-digit USA scorers. Italy will be led by forward Cecilia Zandalasini, a starter for the Valkyries who averaged a team-leading 13.8 points per game in the qualifying tournament.
USA v. Czechia: Sept. 7, 2:45 p.m. EDT on TNT, truTV and HBO Max.
While Czechia last qualified for the tournament in 2014, it soared to a silver medal spot in 2010 after falling to Catchings, Dupree and the United States in the tournament final. Guard Eliška Joklová, who signed a player development contract with the Lynx in May, will take to Berlin after playing in a reserve role in 21 games for the league's top-ranked squad this season.
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Alex Sabri began contributing to Indiana Fever On SI in May 2026. He also covers Ohio and Detroit sports for On SI and the BIGPLAY Sports Network.The Purdue and Cleveland State graduate has over four years of journalism and sports media experience across collegiate and professional sports and local coverage.Though he specializes in covering professional hoops, his interests include the WNBA, NBA, NFL, Cleveland Guardians and college football and basketball.
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