USA Fends Off Spain to Set Up World Cup Final Showdown With France

The United States secured a hard-fought 76-66 victory over Spain in Berlin to advance to the women’s basketball World Cup final, where they will face France.

Playing in Berlin, resilient underdogs Spain managed to tie the score at 58-all by the end of the third quarter against the defending champions. However, the 11-time champions relied on their championship experience in the final period, outscoring Spain by 10 points to secure the win.

Breanna Stewart led the charge with 16 points, while Kahleah Copper added 13, extending the tournament winning streak for the USA to 35 matches—a run tracing back to a semifinal loss against Russia in 2006. Sunday’s final against France serves as a rematch of the 2004 Paris Olympics gold medal match, which the Americans narrowly claimed by a single point.

“That’s over, you know what I mean? We won that game and that game is over, and this is a completely new game tomorrow,” Stewart stated to reporters regarding the previous final. “Everybody has their own things that continue to motivate them … but this is one game to win the gold medal in the World Cup in Berlin, and that’s our entire focus.”

Meanwhile, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark faced another tough outing, recording just one point and two turnovers amid intense pressure from the Spanish defense. Spain started aggressively, building an eight-point advantage midway through the opening quarter, before the Americans settled to dictate the pace through the second and third periods.

Much like their match against Italy, the US saw their defensive intensity dip late in the game, allowing Spain to orchestrate a 9-2 run to level the score at the end of the third. Cheered on by a crowd of 12,650, Spain looked poised for an upset, but the Americans responded decisively with a 12-2 run at the start of the final quarter.

Earlier in the day, France booked their spot in the final for the first time following an 86-64 victory over host nation Germany. Gabby Williams spearheaded the effort with 22 points for the Olympic silver medallists, maintaining their undefeated tournament record ahead of Sunday's decider in Berlin.

The US-born Williams also contributed five assists and four steals, remaining a constant threat across both ends of the court. Expressing her determination, Williams told BeIN Sports: “I just want to give it my all. You never know when you’ll get an opportunity like this. You don’t know if it’ll be the last one. So, I’m just going to give everything.”

Teammate Marieme Badiane emphasized that the French squad will not be intimidated by the prospect of challenging the American team. “We all realise that we can go for the ultimate prize. That’s the goal now. We aren’t stopping here. No one is going to let up,” Badiane said.

Germany reached their first semifinal appearance as a unified country—with East Germany having previously reached the final four in 1967—after overcoming European champions Belgium in the quarterfinals. Although Germany kept the pressure on early, France pulled away in the second half, securing a comfortable victory to advance.