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Team USA Begins Quest for Fifth Straight World Cup Title Against China

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Basketball

The dynasty clock starts again.

Team USA, winners of nine of the last 12 FIBA Women’s World Cups and champions at the last four editions, open their latest title defense on Friday with a Group D clash against China — a matchup that feels less like a gentle warmup and more like an early stress test for a remodeled powerhouse.

The game tips at 8:15 a.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 4, at Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin, the stage where the next chapter of American dominance, or the first sign of vulnerability, will begin to reveal itself.

A giant without A’ja Wilson

For the first time in years, Team USA arrives without its most decorated active star. Four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, the MVP of the 2022 World Cup, has been ruled out of the tournament for health reasons. Kley Plum, another key figure in recent American success, is also unavailable in Germany.

Those are seismic absences. Wilson anchored both ends of the floor in 2022 and set the tone for a group that steamrolled its way to gold. Now, Kara Lawson steps into her first World Cup as head coach knowing her margin for error just shrank.

Yet the jersey still carries weight. So does the talent.

This roster leans heavily into the sport’s next wave: Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers headline a group of rising American stars handed the responsibility of keeping the gold run alive. The World Cup has long been the domain where USA Basketball confirms its hierarchy. This time, it might also redefine it.

China hit by late blow of their own

China arrive in Berlin as more than just a familiar name on the schedule. They pushed through to a silver medal at the 2022 World Cup, a run that reasserted the nation as a serious force in the women’s game.

But their preparations have been rocked as well.

Two-time Olympian and Dallas Wings center Li Yueru, a central figure in that 2022 silver-medal campaign, will not play in this tournament. A lost passport in the mail has prevented her from traveling to Berlin, leaving China without their interior anchor on the very stage where they hoped to chase gold.

It’s a brutal, bureaucratic twist for a program that had every reason to believe it could test the Americans again.

Group D stakes and schedule

There is no easing into this World Cup. Group D pairs USA and China with Italy and Czechia, and only the group winner walks straight into the quarterfinals.

The Americans open against China on Friday, then turn quickly to two more tests:

  • Sunday, Sept. 6: USA vs. Italy (2:30 p.m. ET)
  • Monday, Sept. 7: USA vs. Czechia (2:30 p.m. ET)

Win the group and the reward is clear: an automatic ticket to the quarterfinals on Thursday, Sept. 10.

Finish second or third, and the path grows complicated. Those teams drop into a Playoff Qualification Round on Tuesday, Sept. 8, to scrap for the final four quarterfinal spots. From there, the knockout phase tightens:

  • Quarterfinals: Thursday, Sept. 10
  • Semifinals: Saturday, Sept. 12
  • Third-place game and final: Sunday, Sept. 13

For a program used to cruising through group play, the structure adds a sharper edge. Any slip could turn a routine march into a sprint through an extra elimination game.

How to watch: USA vs. China

The World Cup opener is not hiding on the schedule.

TNT holds exclusive U.S. English-language rights, with all 36 games streaming on HBO Max. Seventeen contests will air on TNT and truTV, including every Team USA game.

For Friday’s showdown:

  • Date: Friday, Sept. 4
  • Time: 8:15 a.m. ET (5:15 a.m. PT)
  • Location: Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin
  • TV: TNT, truTV
  • Streaming: HBO Max

From the first tip in Berlin to the final on Sept. 13, the cameras will track whether a new-look American roster can keep a stranglehold on the sport — or whether a shorthanded China, and the rest of the field, can finally pry the door open.

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