Caitlin Clark will make her debut at the FIBA senior World Cup on Friday, Sept. 4. If you want to catch it, however, you're going to have to set your alarm. Team USA begins play in Berlin at 8:15 a.m. ET.
Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese will team up with Clark making their FIBA senior World Cup debuts. The three of them will spend Sept. 4-13 in Berlin next to A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, on a team Sue Bird picked and Kara Lawson will coach, defending a title the United States has held since 2010 and a streak that runs deeper than that.
The Americans have not lost a World Cup game since 2006, when Russia beat them 75-68.
The tournament around them has changed, however.
FIBA cut the field to 12 teams for Sydney in 2022 and has now put it back at
16, in four groups, with a play-in game bolted on. Win your group and you go straight to the quarterfinals. Finish second or third and you play an extra game to get there. Finish fourth and you go home after three.
Belgium won EuroBasket last year. Australia won the Asia Cup, Nigeria won AfroBasket, and China lost the last final to the U.S. Germany is hosting and never finished better than 11th.
FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Groups
- Group A: Germany, Spain, Japan, Mali
- Group B: France, Nigeria, Korea, Hungary
- Group C: Australia, Belgium, Puerto Rico, Turkey
- Group D: USA, China, Italy, Czechia
Schedule of games
All times Eastern
FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026: Full schedule - Group A
- Friday, Sept. 4, 5:30 a.m. - Japan vs Mali
- Friday, Sept. 4, 11:45 a.m. - Spain vs Germany
- Saturday, Sept. 5, Noon - Germany vs Japan
- Saturday, Sept. 5, 5:30 a.m. - Mali vs Spain
- Monday, Sept. 7, 11:50 a.m. - Japan vs Spain
- Monday, Sept. 7, 11:50 a.m. - Germany vs Mali
FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026: Full schedule - Group B
- Friday, Sept. 4, 3 p.m. - Hungary vs France
- Friday, Sept. 4, 8:30 p.m. - Korea vs Nigeria
- Saturday, Sept. 5, 8:15 p.m. - Nigeria vs Hungary
- Saturday, Sept. 5, 2:45 p.m. - France vs Korea
- Monday, Sept. 7, 8:30 p.m. - Hungary vs Korea
- Monday, Sept. 7, 8:30 p.m. - Nigeria vs France
FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026: Full schedule - Group C
- Friday, Sept. 4, 11:30 a.m. - Belgium vs Turkey
- Friday, Sept. 4, 5:30 a.m. - Australia vs Puerto Rico
- Sunday, Sept. 6, 11:45 a.m. - Puerto Rico vs Belgium
- Sunday, Sept. 6, 5:30 a.m. - Turkey vs Australia
- Monday, Sept. 7, 5:30 a.m. - Belgium vs Australia
- Monday, Sept. 7, 5:30 a.m. - Puerto Rico vs Turkey
FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026: Full schedule - Group D
- Friday, Sept. 4, 8:15 a.m. - USA vs China
- Friday, Sept. 4, 2:15 p.m. - Czechia vs Italy
- Sunday, Sept. 6, 2:45 p.m. - Italy vs USA
- Saturday, Sept. 5, 8:30 a.m. - China vas Czechia
- Monday, Sept. 7, 2:45 p.m. - USA vs Czechia
- Monday Sept. 7, 2:45 p.m. - Italy vs China
Qualification Round
Eight teams come out of the group stage without a quarterfinal spot. They play for four spots.
Tuesday Sept. 8
PI-1: Group A runner-up vs. Group B third place, TBD
PI-2: Group B runner-up vs. Group A third place, TBD
Wednesday, Sept. 9
PI-3: Group D third place vs. Group C runner-up, TBD
PI-4: Group C third place vs. Group D runner-up, TBD
Quarterfinals
Thursday Sept. 10
It's a single-elimination tournament from here on out. The winner haven't played since Monday, they will face a team that played its way through.
QF-1: Group A winner vs. PI-3 winner
QF-2: Group B winner vs. PI-4 winner
QF-3: Group C winner vs. PI-1 winner
QF-4: Group D winner vs. PI-2 winner
Semifinals
Saturday Sept. 12
QF-1 winner vs. QF-4 winner
QF-2 winner vs. QF-3 winner
Final and third-place games
Sunday, Sept. 13
Third-place game 10:30 a.m.
Final 2 p.m.
How to watch the FIBA Basketball Women's World Cup
TNT has the exclusive U.S. English-language rights. All 36 games stream on HBOMax. Seventeen air on TNT and truTV, including every U.S. game.
Lauren Jbara hosts the studio show with Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles. Candace Parker will drop in for select shows. Brendan Glasheen calls games with Sarah Kustok, and Allie LaForce works the sidelines.
Friday, Sept. 4: USA vs. China (8:00 AM ET) TNT, truTV
Sunday, Sept. 6: USA vs. Italy (2:30 PM ET) TNT
Monday, Sept. 7: USA vs. Czechia (2:30 PM ET) TNT
Tuesday, Sept. 8: Playoff Qualification Round truTV (select games)
Thursday, Sept. 10: Quarterfinals TNT or truTV
Saturday, Sept. 12: Semifinals TBS, truTV
Sunday, Sept. 13: Third-Place Game & Final TNT, truTV
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When Team USA plays at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026
