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USA vs France: FIBA Women’s World Cup Final Preview

The stage is set in Berlin for the sequel everyone saw coming.

Team USA and France, separated by a single point in the Olympic final in Paris, will run it back on Sunday, Sept. 13, this time with the FIBA Women’s World Cup trophy on the line at Berlin Arena. Same giants, different stakes. The Americans are chasing history. The French are chasing a first.

A dynasty under pressure

For USA, this isn’t just another final. This is the standard.

They arrive in Berlin vying for a fifth consecutive World Cup crown and a 12th overall, carrying the weight of a program that measures itself only in gold. Every tournament, every cycle, the expectation is the same: win it all, or it’s a failure.

Breanna Stewart, averaging 11 points across the tournament, cut straight to the core of it.

“This is our standard here with Team USA. ... Everything that we do is going to dictate what happens in tomorrow's game,” she said. She knows what’s coming on Sunday: tension, noise, nerves. “There's going to be a ton of emotions in this game ... the team that really regulates that and handles that best that will have the advantage."

USA have played like a team intent on removing all doubt. They opened with a 94-61 statement against China, then had to grind past Italy, 55-52, in a reminder that even juggernauts can be dragged into a street fight. The response was ruthless: 105-64 over Czechia, 108-56 against Hungary in the quarterfinals, then a composed 77-67 win over Spain in the semifinals.

They’ve been tested. They’ve also been emphatic.

France playing with house money

On the other side is a French team that has spent the past year living with the sting of that 67-66 Olympic loss on home soil. Now, they walk into their first Women’s World Cup final with a very different kind of freedom.

"If I'm honest, we have nothing to lose," said Marine Johannes, France’s second-leading scorer behind Gabby Williams. There was no false bravado in her words, just clarity. "We actually know they are a great team. They won every World Cup for years and years. They're really talented. We all know that."

Johannes and several of her teammates see these American stars all season in the WNBA. The mystique is gone. The respect remains.

"We are playing with this kind of player actually all season in the W. We know how good they are, but again, it's one game, nothing to lose. We are going to play hard and we'll see what happens."

That’s the crux of it for France. One game. One shot to snap a run that has defined an era of international women’s basketball.

Tip-off, TV and how to watch

The gold-medal game between USA and France tips at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) on Sunday, Sept. 13, at Berlin Arena in Berlin, Germany.

For viewers in the United States, TNT holds the exclusive English-language rights, with coverage also on truTV. All games stream on HBOMax.

  • Date: Sunday, Sept. 13
  • Time: 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT)
  • Location: Berlin Arena (Berlin)
  • TV: TNT, truTV

Earlier in the day, Germany and Spain will meet in the third-place game at 10:30 a.m. ET, also on TNT and truTV.

USA’s road to the final

Team USA’s path through the tournament:

  • Friday, Sept. 4: USA 94, China 61
  • Sunday, Sept. 6: USA 55, Italy 52
  • Monday, Sept. 7: USA 105, Czechia 64
  • Thursday, Sept. 10: USA 108, Hungary 56 (Quarterfinal)
  • Saturday, Sept. 12: USA 77, Spain 67 (Semifinal)
  • Sunday, Sept. 13: USA vs. France (Final)

They have rolled, stumbled briefly, then rolled again. Now comes the only game anyone will remember.

A dynasty stands one win from another chapter. A challenger stands one win from rewriting the script. In Berlin, does history repeat, or does it finally break?

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