Team USA Dominates Group D at FIBA Women’s World Cup
BERLIN — The numbers say domination. The feel of it is something else entirely.
Team USA has ripped through Group D at the FIBA Women’s World Cup, closing out pool play with a 105-64 demolition of Czechia on Monday in Berlin. Three games, three wins, three statements. The Americans sit at 3-0, top of the group, and already through to the quarterfinals with two days to catch their breath.
The 41-point rout over Czechia wasn’t just another blowout. It was win No. 33 in a row at the World Cup, a streak that stretches all the way back to 2006. Two decades of everyone else chasing the same standard.
Now the real tournament begins.
Stewart steady, Young leading, stars everywhere
This version of Team USA doesn’t lean on one superstar to drag it through games. It doesn’t have to.
Breanna Stewart, in her fourth World Cup, is the quiet engine. She’s averaging 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds, anchoring both ends of the floor without needing to dominate the box score. Jackie Young has taken on the scoring load so far, leading the team at 11.3 points per game.
Around them, the roles are sharply defined.
Caitlin Clark has slid into the role of primary creator, leading the team at 6.3 assists per game. Paige Bueckers is setting the tone at the rim with 1.3 blocks per night, while Rhyne Howard is hunting passing lanes and averaging 1.7 steals.
It’s a roster stacked with options, but Clark’s orchestration has already become central to how the Americans play.
“(Caitlin) provides a great playmaking aspect to her game on our team,” head coach Kara Lawson said. “We rely on her at the point guard position when she's in, to run the team. We saw that in the first game when she had 11 assists and zero turnovers.”
Lawson knows what this stage can do for a young guard. The trust is real.
“She's another young player that's feeling her way through her first World Cup, you know? And she's really motivated and wanting to help our team win,” Lawson said. “And I think that's a great place to be. And I think all of our young players will take a lot from these three pool play games, give them a lot of confidence as we go into the middle round.”
The “middle round” now has a clear shape — win or go home.
Bracket time: 12 teams, no safety net
With the group stage done, the World Cup flips into a 12-team elimination bracket. No more margin for error. Every game from Tuesday on is a straight knockout.
The two semifinal winners will meet for the world title on Sept. 13. The semifinal losers will fight for bronze on the same day.
The pathway is set. The tension ramps up now.
Who’s still standing?
The group phase sorted the field, and the usual heavyweights are still alive.
- From Group A:
- Japan
- Spain
- Germany
- From Group B:
- Hungary
- South Korea
- France
- From Group C:
- Belgium
- Australia
- Puerto Rico
- From Group D:
- United States
- Italy
- China
Those 12 now spill into a set of do-or-die fixtures that will shape the quarterfinal bracket.
Knockout schedule: USA waits on Hungary or Japan
The first wave of elimination games arrives on Tuesday, Sept. 8:
- Hungary vs. Japan, 11:45 a.m. ET — winner faces the United States in the quarterfinals
- Germany vs. South Korea, 2:45 p.m. ET — winner advances to play Belgium
On Wednesday, Sept. 9:
- Puerto Rico vs. China, 11:45 a.m. ET — winner earns a shot at France
- Italy vs. Australia, 2:45 p.m. ET — winner moves on to face Spain
From there, the tournament tightens:
- Sept. 10: Quarterfinals
- Sept. 12: Semifinals
- Sept. 13: Championship game and third-place game
Team USA has the luxury of watching and waiting. Hungary or Japan will emerge as the first knockout test on Sept. 10.
The favorites and the field
The bookmakers see what everyone else sees: this is still USA’s tournament to lose.
According to BetMGM, the Americans are heavy favorites to win the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup at -500. No one else is even close to minus-odds.
Behind them, France (+600), Belgium (+1400), Spain (+2000) and Australia (+2800) form the main chasing pack. China, Germany and Italy sit at +6600, while Japan, South Korea, Puerto Rico and Hungary are all long shots at +20000.
On paper, it looks like a procession. On the floor, knockouts have a way of rewriting scripts.
Berlin at the center of the women’s game
The entire tournament sits in one city. Berlin is the heartbeat of the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup, with games split between Berlin Arena and Max-Schmeling-Halle.
Both venues host group-stage contests. Once the stakes rise, everything shifts to Berlin Arena, home to every knockout game from the quarterfinals through the final.
The Americans have already made the building feel familiar. The question now is whether anyone can unsettle them there.
They’ve won 33 straight World Cup games. They’ve crushed their group. They have depth, star power, and the odds on their side.
The bracket is set. The rest of the world has four days to figure out how to stop them.
