US and France reach women's basketball World Cup final with semifinal wins in Berlin

United States edges past Spain in tight semifinal

The United States women's basketball team secured a place in the World Cup gold medal game on Saturday with a 76-66 win over Spain at the Uber Arena in Berlin. Spain controlled the tempo across the first quarter, taking advantage of cold outside shooting from the Americans. The United States regained the lead by the end of the opening period and held off repeated Spanish advances, though the score stood level at 58-58 heading into the fourth quarter. Individual scoring in the final minutes allowed the Americans to protect their lead and extend their tournament winning streak to 34 games, dating back to a semifinal defeat against Russia in 2006.

Breanna Stewart led the United States with 16 points and six rebounds, while Kahleah Copper scored 13 points and Jackie Young added 12. For Spain, Iyana Martín, selected seventh overall in the 2026 WNBA Draft by the Portland Fire, paced the offense with 17 points alongside Maria Conde of the Toronto Tempo, who also scored 17. The 10-point final margin represented the narrowest World Cup semifinal victory for the United States since 2010, when they defeated Australia by 12 points, and was their closest contest against Spain since 1998.

France pulls away from host Germany

France reached the World Cup final for the first time in team history by defeating host Germany 86-64 earlier on Saturday. Played before 12,650 spectators in Berlin, the contest remained tight through the first half, with Germany trailing by two points at the end of the opening quarter. France opened the second half with nine consecutive points to build a 16-point advantage, using a rotation featuring several WNBA players to control the floor.

Germany staged a fourth-quarter push as Alexis Peterson and Emily Bessoir converted three-point shots to cut the deficit to eight points. France answered with a 12-0 scoring run in the closing minutes led by Gabby Williams, Marine Johannes, and Janelle Salaun to close out the victory. Williams finished as the top performer of the game with 22 points, five rebounds, five assists, and four steals, keeping France undefeated in the tournament.

Rematch set for Berlin gold medal decider

Saturday's semifinal results set up a rematch between the United States and France on Sunday for the World Cup championship in Berlin. The meeting follows their gold medal game at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where the United States won 67-66. The United States enters the decider seeking to protect a streak that includes the past four World Cup titles and the last eight Olympic gold medals, having not lost a game across either competition in 20 years.

For France, the appearance in the final guarantees at least a silver medal, surpassing the country's previous best World Cup result, a third-place finish at the inaugural 1953 tournament in Chile. Germany and Spain will play for the bronze medal on Sunday. Germany reached the semifinals as a unified country for the first time after defeating European champion Belgium in the quarter-finals, while Spain seeks its fourth World Cup medal following silver in 2014 and bronzes in 2010 and 2018.