Group play ends Sept. 7. Qualification games are Sept. 8–9, quarterfinals Sept. 10, semifinals Sept. 12, medals Sept. 13.
THE 30-SECOND BRIEFING
No passport required. An alarm clock helps.
Berlin is six hours ahead of Eastern time. The tournament runs September 4 through 13, expands to 16 teams for the first time, and squeezes 36 games into 10 days. Group winners earn a direct trip to the quarterfinals, which makes every early result matter.
Games are staged at Berlin Arena and Max-Schmeling-Halle in Germany.
Four groups of four, expanded from the 12-team field used in 2022.
Finish first in your group and skip the single-elimination qualification round.
Why the group winner matters: second and third place do advance, but they have to survive an extra elimination game. In a compressed tournament, winning the group buys the rarest luxury in Berlin: rest.
SET YOUR ALARM · TEAM USA
Three group games, three very different clocks.
Every Team USA game is on TNT and streams on HBO Max. TNT/truTV carry 17 of the tournament's 36 games, while HBO Max streams all 36. Courtside 1891 on DAZN also carries the World Cup live or on demand, subject to local availability.
8:15 AM ET · 5:15 AM PT
TNT · HBO Max
2:45 PM ET · 11:45 AM PT
TNT · HBO Max
2:45 PM ET · 11:45 AM PT
TNT · HBO Max
THE GROUPS
Four neighborhoods. Four ways to get in trouble.
The names are familiar, but the pressure is different. One loss can turn a clean quarterfinal route into an extra win-or-go-home game.
Spain · Germany · Japan · Mali
🇪🇸 Spain🇩🇪 Germany🇯🇵 Japan🇲🇱 Mali
The read: Spain enters on FIBA's latest Smart Power Rankings podium line, while Germany gets the home crowd and a frontcourt full of WNBA familiarity. Japan brings pace and Mai Yamamoto's larger national-team role. Mali has Sika Koné and no reason to play scared.
France · Hungary · Nigeria · Korea
🇫🇷 France🇭🇺 Hungary🇳🇬 Nigeria🇰🇷 Korea
The read: France is the biggest threat to USA on paper and owns the deepest WNBA contingent outside the Americans. Hungary turns Dorka Juhász into a featured star, Nigeria brings AfroBasket pedigree, and Korea can punish teams that lose shooters.
Belgium · Australia · Türkiye · Puerto Rico
🇧🇪 Belgium🇦🇺 Australia🇹🇷 Türkiye🇵🇷 Puerto Rico
The read: This is the group to circle in ink. Belgium's movement and Emma Meesseman meet Australia's size, experience and Sandy Brondello. Türkiye has Kennedy Burke, while Puerto Rico has the freedom of a team nobody should overlook.
USA · China · Italy · Czechia
🇺🇸 USA🇨🇳 China🇮🇹 Italy🇨🇿 Czechia
The read: USA is the favorite, but China gives the group serious interior size and Italy arrives with EuroBasket continuity plus Cecilia Zandalasini. Czechia's job is to make the favorites uncomfortable enough for one result to rearrange the bracket.
PHOTO BOARD · MEDAL RADAR
Six teams worth learning before the ball goes up.
These are real team and tournament photos pulled from official FIBA coverage. The first five are also FIBA's latest subjective Smart Power Rankings top five. Germany gets the sixth spot here because the host crowd changes the temperature of the whole event.
SMART POWER RANK · 1🇺🇸 USA
Eleven World Cup titles, four straight, and enough depth to remain No. 1 even after A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum withdrew.
Photo / team source ↗SMART POWER RANK · 2🇫🇷 France
Gabby Williams, Marine Johannès, Dominique Malonga and a roster built to finish the job that ended one point short in Paris.
Photo / team source ↗SMART POWER RANK · 3🇪🇸 Spain
Megan Gustafson, Maria Conde, Awa Fam and Raquel Carrera give Spain size, skill and a real podium ceiling.
Photo / team source ↗SMART POWER RANK · 4🇧🇪 Belgium
The Belgian Cats already own back-to-back EuroBasket titles. Emma Meesseman and Julie Allemand are trying to turn continental dominance into a first global medal.
Photo / team source ↗SMART POWER RANK · 5🇦🇺 Australia
Alanna Smith, Ezi Magbegor and Steph Talbot keep the Opals dangerous even after a pre-tournament roster hit.
Photo / team source ↗HOST NATION🇩🇪 Germany
Leonie Fiebich, Luisa Geiselsöder and home-court noise make Germany the team most capable of turning a normal group game into an event.
Photo / team source ↗WNBA PASSPORT STAMP
The W is everywhere in Berlin.
The WNBA's Sept. 3 primer counted 51 current WNBA players, 23.5% of the league's 217 rostered players, across 14 of 15 WNBA teams and 15 of the 16 World Cup nations. Final-roster movement can change counts at the margins, so We Know the W treats FIBA's confirmed roster tracker as the live authority.
WNBA players in the WNBA primer
The United States supplies 12. France has eight. Australia has seven. Spain has six. Germany has four. Belgium has three. Italy and Nigeria have two each. China, Czechia, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Mali and Türkiye each have one in the WNBA count.
Translation: if you already know the WNBA, you already know a lot of this tournament. The trick is recognizing that the same player may have a completely different job once the jersey changes.
SAME PLAYER · DIFFERENT JOB
National-team basketball changes the menu.
A WNBA fifth option can become the whole offense. A 34-minute WNBA star can become a 20-minute specialist. That role change is one of the best reasons to watch FIBA.
From Lynx role player to Hungary centerpiece
She averaged 18.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in qualifying, opened with 35 points, and made the All-Star Five while helping Hungary reach its first World Cup in 28 years.
Bench spark in Vegas, engine for Japan
Yamamoto led Japan in qualifying scoring, threes and steals, then earned All-Star Five honors. Watch how often the ball is in her hands compared with her Aces role.
Golden State weapon, France tournament MVP
Salaün led France's qualifying team in scoring, rebounding and made threes, earning qualifying tournament MVP honors with outrageous efficiency.
WNBA workhorse, USA luxury piece
Howard leads the WNBA in minutes per game, but Team USA can spread creation and defense across 12 elite players. Less usage does not mean less importance.
TEAM USA · DRIVE FOR FIVE
New generation, same gold standard.
USA is chasing a fifth consecutive World Cup title. A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum are out for health reasons, and Sonia Citron plus Kiki Iriafen have joined the final 12. Only five players from the 2024 Olympic team return, which makes this roster both overwhelmingly talented and unusually new.
The veteran who keeps a roster with nine World Cup debutantes from feeling young.
Playerpedia →Defense, rebounding, cutting and lineup flexibility, all without needing the offense built around her.
Playerpedia →The safest organizer when a young lineup needs the game slowed down and put in the right order.
Playerpedia →Qualifying MVP meets her first World Cup, with less required usage than she sees in Indiana.
Playerpedia →A secondary creator who can score without monopolizing possessions, ideal for a roster this deep.
Playerpedia →Without Wilson, interior finishing, screens and defensive positioning become even more valuable.
Playerpedia →Rebounding can swing short tournaments. Reese owns a skill that travels without needing a play called.
Playerpedia →Guard bigger players, space the floor, attack a closeout, then do it again in another lineup.
Playerpedia →Defense and off-ball intelligence are useful when there is almost no time to install a new role.
Playerpedia →Already part of the qualifying program, she brings an athletic frontcourt option after Wilson's withdrawal.
Playerpedia →GAMES TO CIRCLE
Watch beyond the USA box.
Opening weekend is packed with games that can decide who earns the quarterfinal bye and who gets dropped into the qualification-round traffic.
USA vs. China · Sept. 4
USA's speed and depth versus China's size. It is the first look at how Lawson redistributes the frontcourt after Wilson's withdrawal.
Spain vs. Germany · Sept. 4
A top-three Smart Power Rankings team versus the host. If Germany wants to turn Berlin into a run, this is the temperature check.
Belgium vs. Türkiye · Sept. 4
Belgium needs to establish control of Group C before the Opals game. Türkiye gets the first chance to make that group messy.
Hungary vs. France · Sept. 4
France's depth against Dorka Juhász in full national-team-star mode.
USA vs. Italy · Sept. 6
Italy brings continuity and Zandalasini's shotmaking. USA gets a European-style spacing and execution test.
Belgium vs. Australia · Sept. 7
The game most likely to decide Group C's direct quarterfinal ticket.
Japan vs. Spain · Sept. 7
Japan's pace and guard play versus Spain's size and half-court structure.
USA vs. Czechia · Sept. 7
The final Group D game, potentially the difference between a clean quarterfinal bye and extra bracket work.
WATCH LIKE IT'S FIBA
One rule wrinkle you will notice immediately.
This World Cup is still played under the 2024 FIBA rules. The new 2026 rule changes do not take effect until October 1, after the tournament.
RIM
Once the ball hits the rim, it is live.
Under FIBA basket-interference rules, players can tip or knock the ball after it touches the rim in situations that would still be protected by the imaginary cylinder in WNBA/NBA play. If a rebound suddenly looks like somebody swatted a ball off the iron, your eyes are not lying to you.
WNBA MINDS ON FIBA SIDELINES
The coaching crossover is deep too.
The Toronto Tempo head coach leads the Opals.
Toronto associate head coach leads the host nation.
Stephanie White, Natalie Nakase and Nate Tibbetts are assistants. Jose Fernandez serves as scout coach.
The Chicago Sky assistant is D'Tigress head coach.
The three-time WNBA Coach of the Year leads the Belgian Cats.
The 2009 WNBA champion coach leads Japan.
THE RECEIPTS
Where this guide came from.
The WNBA primer was the starting point. Final rosters, competition format, team context, Smart Power Rankings and rules were cross-checked against FIBA. U.S. television information was checked against current broadcast reporting.
WNBA PrimerWNBA-player counts, coaches, national-team role changes, Team USA context and the WNBA lens on the field.
Official FIBA World CupLive schedule, standings, confirmed rosters, tournament pages and game results.
Competition SystemFour groups, qualification round, quarterfinals and knockout structure.
FIBA Smart Power RankingsLatest pre-tournament subjective ranking, USA, France, Spain, Belgium and Australia in the top five.
FIBA RulesThe 2024 rulebook remains current for this World Cup. The 2026 changes begin October 1.
U.S. Watch GuideCurrent TNT, truTV and HBO Max coverage plus Team USA tip times.