FIBA Women's World Cup 2026 Semifinals Qualified Teams, Schedule, Odds and Bracket Predictions

The United States and France punched their tickets to the semifinals of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup on Thursday.

Neither team encountered much resistance in the quarterfinals, living up to their status as the two best countries in the women's game.

Here's what you need to know for the next round, which tips off Saturday.

France nearly pushed the United States to overtime in gold medal game at the 2024 Summer Olympics. A matter of inches was the difference between Gabby Williams' buzzer-beater forcing an extra period and the host country settling for a heartbreaking defeat.

The United States looked sluggish in a 55-52 win over Italy in the group phase, and that might've been the wakeup call the team needed. Team USA hammered Czechia by 41 points in its next game and won by a 52-point margin in the quarterfinals over Hungary.

Napheesa Collier scored a game-high 19 points Thursday, and Caitlin Clark narrowly missed out on another double-double (10 points and nine assists).

France was even more dominant in the group, winning its three games by a combined 127 points. The quarterfinals were more of the same.

The French held a five-point lead after the first quarter before outscoring China 23-11 in the second quarter. They sailed to a 90-61 win from there, with Marine Johannes, Gabby Williams and Janelle Salaün all scoring in double figures.

Host Germany won't be a pushover in the semis.

Buoyed by a raucous crowd in Berlin, Olaf Lange's squad dispatched of reigning European champion Belgium, overcoming a 29-point effort by 2019 WNBA Finals MVP Emma Meesseman.

Six players scored in double figures for Germany, and no star shined brither than Leonie Fiebich. She had a team-high 17 points and 10 rebounds, one of two German players to post a double-double alongside Nyara Sabally (16 points and 12 boards).

Even with Germany's strong performance, a United States vs. France final is the likely outcome from Saturday's games. The talent with both teams is too much to overlook.