The focus of the basketball world is shifting from league play to the international stage. The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup is set to take center stage later this week, with Team USA possibly having a roster featuring an Avengers-level lineup. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are some of the few names who will be suiting up for the national team.

The tournament is already generating a huge buzz among the fans to catch some of the top national teams going up against each other. And more importantly, especially because they get to watch all the top stars on the same team. For fans looking to follow the action, here’s what you need to know about the upcoming FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 qualifiers.

What Is the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournament?

The FIBA WBB World Cup qualifiers, scheduled between March 11-17, are a preliminary round to the World Cup, scheduled to be held in Germany in September (4-13). The competition will determine the 16 teams that will participate in the Berlin event. For context, 24 teams will compete in the qualifiers, further divided into four groups of six teams each, spanning four cities: Istanbul, Puerto Rico, San Juan, and Villeurbanne.

The qualification part is where things get interesting. In each of these groups, there will be a Continental Cup Winner, who has already secured automatic qualification for the tournament. Irrespective of that, they will compete in the event, leaving out the opportunity for the three top teams of the bracket (besides the Continental Cup Winner) to qualify for the event in September.

Similar to the Continental Cup Winners: USA, Australia, Nigeria, and Belgium, the host nation, Germany, will also receive an automatic qualification for the tournament. Thus, in the Villeurbanne bracket, where Germany will compete, two top teams other than the Continental Cup winner and the host nation will qualify for the World Cup.

Where Is Team USA Playing And Who Are Its Opponents?

The US team will play in the San Juan bracket of the qualifiers. In the tournament, they will face five teams over this window. Their opponents for the event include:

• New Zealand
• Puerto Rico
• Senegal
• Italy
• Spain

For the USA National team, qualification is the last of its worries at FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifiers. Being the AmeriCup winner, they are already qualified for the tournament. But the event will give the team an excellent opportunity to try fresh faces before the main event.

Quite strategically, the tournament roster has also been constructed for the same purpose: to experiment with their top WNBA prodigies who lack national team experience. For instance, the team has brought in superstar Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers for their first national team call-ups to better prepare before the actual tournament in September, when several seniors, including Napheesa Collier, will join the team.

What is Team USA’s Full Schedule, Dates, Times & Opponents?

Here is the US National team’s complete schedule:

• March 11, 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT- USA vs Senegal
• March 12, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT- USA vs Puerto Rico
• March 14, 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT- USA vs Italy
• March 15, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT- USA vs New Zealand
• March 17, 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT- USA vs Spain 

How to Watch the FIBA Qualifying Tournament on TV and Streaming?

TNT Sports and FIBA recently signed a deal for English-language broadcasting of FIBA’s events. It is a major breakthrough in the roadmap of both the organization and the broadcasting company. The deal runs through 2029, and as a result, all the games of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup will be streamed on the TNT Sports-authorized sources in the US.

TNT, TBS, and TruTV are the major go-tos for this tournament. Additionally, you can also tune into HBO Max, owned by TNT Sports’ parent company, Warner Bros, to watch live action. Moreover, the tournament will also have an abundant social media presence through websites such as Warner Bros-owned Bleacher Report. Additionally, FIBA’s Courtside 1891 will be available to fans for catching the live action.

Four of the five US national team games will air on HBO Max and TruTV. Only the highly anticipated game against Spain will be shown on the flagship TNT channel.