Five consecutive World Cup titles and an unbeaten tournament run are unquestionably a sign of dominance. This 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup, however, offered a somewhat different picture. Of course, the Americans still finished on top without losing a single game, but according to former ESPN host Linda Cohn, the manner in which Team USA had to navigate some of their games in this tournament certainly made it feel like the quality gap between them and the rest of the world is shrinking.

“Here’s the biggest thing I took away from this tournament about Team USA,” Cohn said on Tuesday’s episode of her Linda Cohn Show podcast. “The rest of the world is coming. Yeah. Remember, it wasn’t a walk in the park in this World Cup. France had their moments for a half and a quarter. Spain had the US tied entering the fourth quarter. This wasn’t a tournament where the Americans just showed up and won by 40 in each game.” 

“In two years, it’s going to be tougher. Because in this tournament, they were challenged. But that was a good thing, that’s the experience we want them to experience, so to speak, because two years from now the Olympics are in Los Angeles, and it’s going to be tough. The pressure is going to be extremely enormous. Everybody’s going to be coming after Team USA — more than ever,” Cohn added.

Of course, as Cohn pointed out, teams like Italy, Spain and France in the final did give Team USA a bit of a problem in this World Cup. Italy specifically, in the group stage, pushed Team USA to a narrow 55-52 escape, the lowest scoring output the Americans had managed in a World Cup game in 42 years. Against Spain in the semifinal, the defending champions also didn’t find it easy, leaving the game completely level at 58-58 heading into the final quarter before eventually pulling away for a 76-66 victory.

The first half of the World Cup final against France was perhaps the clearest illustration of what Cohn is pointing toward. France came out with staggering aggression and defensive intensity, storming into a 45-43 lead at halftime. In fact, Team USA trailed by as many as 14 points at one stage in the second quarter. 

Of course, the comeback was eventually mounted, as Team USA dominated the third quarter 30-12 before cruising to a 97-79 victory. And that was impressive. But the first half was a genuine warning sign about what the best teams in the world are now capable of producing against even the most dominant women’s basketball programme on the planet.

And perhaps the most concerning sign is that this is not the first time this France team has threatened Team USA in a final. In the 2024 Olympics, it was even closer, as the two teams were separated by just a single point after the final buzzer.

Looking at the 2022 World Cup, the last edition before this one, it does certainly feel like there is a catching up in quality by teams like France that is beginning to happen. Unlike the close final situation in 2024, as well as the Italy, Spain and France games this year, Team USA did not seem to experience any late-game scares or true struggles comparable to their gruelling 2026 campaign.

But as it appears, that would not be a reliable enough yardstick to measure whatever trend Cohn is suggesting might be happening. Because, in the previous World Cups before that, Team USA certainly had games where they also had to grind out the victory. For example, their 2018 final win against Australia did not come easy either. They also had some work to do against the same Australia team in 2014.

But of course, from an objective standpoint, it does seem like other nations around the world are now beginning to build their quality when it comes to basketball. And so, it does feel like there is not much Team USA can do to control the quality that other nations are steadily building. What they can control, however, is their preparation, mentally and on the court. And as Linda Cohn noted, the difficult games in Berlin were a valuable lesson.