Germany defeats Belgium 93-74 to reach first Women's Basketball World Cup semi-final

Quarter-final breakthrough in Berlin

On Thursday evening, 10 September 2026, the German women's national basketball team defeated reigning European champion Belgium 93-74 at the Uber Arena in Berlin. The victory marks the first time in history that the German women's team has advanced to the semi-finals of a FIBA World Cup. A crowd of 10,537 spectators attended the quarter-final in Friedrichshain, including more than 1,000 travelling Belgian supporters and former NBA star Dirk Nowitzki watching courtside. The result earned Germany its fourth consecutive tournament win after opening the competition with a heavy defeat against Spain less than a week earlier. The victory also reversed recent form against the Belgian squad, who had beaten Germany by more than 20 points in three consecutive encounters, including a 24-point defeat at the European Championship, following Germany's 83-69 group-stage win at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Fiebich and Wilke ignite early run

Belgium opened the quarter-final with six unanswered points before the German offense recorded its first basket. Leonie Fiebich, a WNBA player for New York Liberty who had previously struggled with her outside shooting in the tournament, halted the Belgian momentum by converting two early three-pointers. German guard Alexandra Wilke secured the team's first lead at 16-15 in the ninth minute with a three-point shot. Head coach Olaf Lange instructed his players to push the pace through structured defense, creating transition scoring opportunities for Lina Sontag and Frieda Bühner. Germany closed the opening quarter ahead 22-19 before executing an 11-0 scoring run to build a 34-21 lead in the 13th minute. The German team maintained a 42-35 advantage at the halftime interval after taking the second quarter 20-16.

Frontcourt control and scoring leaders

Germany maintained control throughout the second half, winning the third quarter 32-24 to take a 74-59 lead into the final ten minutes. Berlin-born center Nyara Sabally served as the main scoring option inside during the third quarter, finishing the match with 16 points. Fiebich completed the game as Germany's top scorer with 17 points, adding perimeter defense against Belgian guards. Belgian forward Emma Meesseman registered a game-high 29 points for the 2023 and 2025 European champions, but Belgium could not cut into the double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter, which Germany won 19-15. German team captain Marie Gülich had addressed the scale of the quarter-final task prior to tip-off.

That is definitely a tough opponent.

Semi-final fixture against France

The quarter-final win secures Germany two opportunities to play for medals at its home tournament. The German team advances to face Olympic silver medallist France in the semi-finals on Saturday, 12 September at 16:30 local time. The semi-final fixture in Berlin is already sold out and will be broadcast live in Germany on MagentaTV. France earned its place in the final four on Thursday with a 90-61 quarter-final victory over China. The winner of Saturday's semi-final advances to the World Cup final, while the losing team will compete in the bronze-medal match on Sunday.