FIBA World Cup 2026 Results, Day 1 Group Box Scores, Highlights & Day 2 Schedule Before KO Bracket

The race to be crowned the best national team in women's basketball has started as the United States made its 2026 tournament debut in Berlin.

The 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup opened play Friday in Germany with eight group stage games.

Here's a look at the results and highlights from today's group stage action as the World Cup came a step closer to the knockout round.

USA dominates China in FIBA World Cup opener

First look at Pro Bowler coaching for CFB team

Japan kicked off group stage play with one of the best shooting performances in FIBA World Cup history.

Japan made a single-game tournament-record 20 three-pointers in a 102-97 win over Mali.

Saki Hayashi made nine three-pointers to set the individual single-game tournament record, while Maki Takada hit a clutch late three-pointer to give her team the lead with 48 seconds remaining.

Australia opened the tournament in the win column after overcoming a mid-game push from Puerto Rico.

After finishing the first half with a six-point lead, Australia saw Puerto Rico climb within one point of tying the game in the third.

Australia responded with a nine-point run to regain a comfortable advantage before closing out the win.

Stephanie Talbot led her team with 19 points in the win, while Alanna Smith, Ezi Magbegor and Jade Melbourne each contributed double-digit point totals of their own.

Team USA started out its bid to defend its 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup with a victory.

The Americans climbed out to a 13-point first-quarter lead and never looked back in a dominant win over China.

One of the toughest matchups for Team USA was 19-year-old Zhang Ziyu, who at 7-foot-4 is taller than every player in WNBA history .

Caitlin Clark and Rhyne Howard combined for seven three-pointers for Team USA, while Paige Bueckers and Kiki Iriafen recorded multiple blocks.

Team USA is back in action Sunday with a 2:45 p.m. ET game against Italy.

Korea began their tournament by securing an upset of world No. 8 Nigeria.

Nigeria earned an early advantage and went on to fight through a tightly-contested first half.

Korea was outscored 23-22 in the second quarter by Nigeria as Ezinne Kalu helped lead her team within one point of tying the game.

Korea recovered by outscoring Nigeria 31-19 in the fourth quarter to close out the victory.

Isaem Choi, Leeseul Kang and Jihyun Park combined for 13 three-pointers in Korea's victory.