The United States extended its decades-long dominance of international women's basketball on Sunday, 13 September 2026, defeating France 97-79 in the final of the Fédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) Women's Basketball World Cup at a sold-out Berlin Arena.
The victory secured the Americans’ fifth consecutive World Cup title and their 12th overall — a record no other nation comes close to matching.
Australia holds the second-most gold medals with six, but the USA has now claimed every edition since 2010.
France, competing in their maiden World Cup final, stunned the defending champions early. A 14-point first-half lead had the pro-French crowd dreaming of an upset, and the Americans trailed 45-43 at the interval.
But the third quarter changed everything.
The USA erupted for 30 points while holding France to just 12, turning a two-point deficit into a commanding 73-57 lead heading into the final period. Seven different American players scored in that decisive quarter, with Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier sparking the run and Jackie Young capping it with a driving layup.
France never recovered.
Stewart Makes History
Breanna Stewart delivered a masterclass on the biggest stage, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds to be named the TISSOT Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament for the second time in her career.
The 2026 honour follows her first MVP award in 2018, making her the first player ever to win the award twice in the history of the competition.
“My message to the team before the game was ‘we are the standard’,” Stewart said afterwards. “USA Basketball has continued to show up and go for gold and to do that however many times consecutively is insane“.
Jackie Young produced her finest performance of the tournament when it mattered most, contributing 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. She joined Stewart in the All-Star Five for the tournament.
Kahleah Copper added 15 points, while Chelsea Gray and Caitlin Clark each chipped in with 12 as five Americans finished in double figures.
France were led by Dominique Malonga with 21 points and six rebounds, and Gabby Williams with 20 points and seven assists. Williams was also named to the All-Star Five alongside Spain’s Iyana Martin and Germany’s Leonie Fiebich.
Record-Breaking Tournament
The 2026 edition set a new benchmark for women’s basketball attendance. A total of 236,015 fans attended matches in Berlin across the tournament, surpassing the previous record of 145,519 set at the 2022 World Cup in Australia — despite fewer games being played this year.
The final itself was watched by a capacity crowd of 12,223 at Berlin Arena, and the tournament achieved an unprecedented average attendance of 6,556 per game.
Spain claimed the bronze medal with an 81-58 victory over host nation Germany, securing their fourth medal in five editions. Germany’s fourth-place finish was their best-ever result at the competition.
Final Standings
The top eight nations finished as follows:
- USA (gold)
- France (silver)
- Spain (bronze)
- Germany
- Belgium
- Australia
- China
- Hungary.
For the United States, the victory reinforces a dynasty that shows no sign of slowing down.
As head coach Kara Lawson put it: “It just shows the strength of our federation. And really the strength of our players. In the biggest moments, they continue to play their best“.
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