Group USA is golden once more.
Its dynasty continues.
America defeated France 97-79 in Sunday’s 2026 World Cup ultimate in Berlin to assert its 12th total and fifth straight World Cup gold. The victory ties the U.S. with the Soviet Union (1959-1975) for probably the most consecutive World Cup titles.
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France gave the U.S. its hardest problem of this yr’s World Cup but could not overcome the People’ third-quarter throttle. Group USA has now received 36 straight World Cup video games and prolonged its streak of not shedding a serious worldwide event recreation since 2006.
“We’re the usual,” Former UConn girls’s basketball star and Group USA captain Breanna Stewart informed TNT after the sport. “We all the time have been, and we’re persevering with to do this, particularly with this gold medal.”
Stewart was the star of the present Sunday, main the U.S. each in poise and on-court stats. In opposition to France, she led Group USA with 22 factors, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Her pair of free throws lower than 20 seconds into the sport moved the previous Husky as much as No. 5 on Group USA’s all-time World Cup profession scoring checklist with 288 whole factors.
Stewart earns her fourth consecutive World Cup gold medal, changing into solely the second participant to take action following fellow former Husky and Group USA managing director Sue Chook. Stewart was additionally named the 2026 FIBA World Cup MVP after averaging 12.8 factors, 7.3 rebounds and a couple of.8 assists per recreation. It is her second World Cup MVP honor after additionally profitable the award in 2018. Her profession streak of by no means shedding an NCAA Event, Olympic and World Cup recreation continues.
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“(I) relied on her loads on this event as a result of we had so many new folks,” Group USA head coach Kara Lawson stated of Stewart after the sport. “However the factor that I respect about her probably the most is her willingness to do something to assist the group. It is so uncommon in a participant of her caliber. …
“She’s going to play any place for us to win, and that high quality is why she’s the best winner that we have had, most likely. … She is USA basketball. Once you consider the final 15 years, it is Stewie, and we’re simply actually fortunate to be part of her period of this group.”
4 different gamers completed in double-digit scoring for Group USA, together with Jackie Younger with 18 factors, six rebounds and 5 assists. Younger was the one participant for the U.S. to attain in double figures in all six World Cup video games and was named MVP for Sunday’s ultimate.
France was led by Seattle Storm ahead Dominique Malonga with 21 factors and 6 rebounds, whereas fellow former Husky star Gabby Williams adopted with 20 factors, seven assists, three rebounds and three steals. Williams was additionally named the World Cup’s Greatest Defensive Participant as she led France with 2.8 steals per recreation.
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Connecticut Solar star Leïla Lacan completed Sunday’s recreation with two factors and two assists in 16 minutes for France. France earned the silver medal for its first World Cup medal end for the reason that event’s inception in 1953.
“After all, we’re dissatisfied proper now, however I feel we’re displaying little by little (that) France is a basketball nation,” stated Williams after the sport. “That was my purpose once I joined this group: to alter the tradition. Clearly, we’ve increased expectations, however we’ll get there.”
Spain defeated host nation Germany to safe the bronze earlier on Sunday.
Stewart, Younger and Williams joined Germany’s Leonie Fiebich and Spain’s Iyana Martin within the World Cup’s All-Star 5 honor.
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After trailing France by 14 within the second quarter, Group USA made its transfer and suffocated the French within the third.
Stewart and Napheesa Collier (six factors, seven rebounds and one help) made back-to-back layups lower than a minute into the third to place Group USA forward for the primary time for the reason that first quarter. The 2 mixed for six factors in a 9-2 USA run throughout the quarter’s first three minutes. However the momentum shift did not cease there.
The People performed with extra aggression, intention and vitality on each ends than France. Group USA outscored France 30-12 within the third quarter alone and never solely restricted the French to only one made 3-pointer all through the body but additionally saved Williams, France’s captain, scoreless the entire quarter.
Group USA prolonged its result in 27 at 6:05 within the fourth because of a free throw from Angel Reese.
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“Credit score to France; they are a actually powerful group, and so they proceed to play us powerful every time we see them,” Stewart informed media in Group USA’s post-game press convention. “… I am actually pleased with the way in which that we let the remainder of the world know that our purpose is all the time gold.”
Whereas the U.S. by no means allowed France to get nearer than 14 within the ultimate eight minutes, the primary half of Sunday’s gold-medal recreation informed a distinct story.
France’s offense acquired sizzling early – particularly from deep. The French went 8-of-14 from the 3-point line within the first half and shot 52% from the ground. Each time Group USA made a transfer, France, and extra particularly Williams, had a counterattack able to go.
Williams led all gamers at halftime with 16 factors. Her triple on the 7:27 mark within the second quarter capped an 11-0 run for France and put the nation forward by 14 — Group USA’s largest deficit of the World Cup.
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The People slowly shrunk France’s lead. Stewart and Younger mixed for 10 factors in a lower than two-minute span to get the U.S. inside six midway by means of the second quarter. Chelsea Grey‘s lengthy 2-pointer with 90 seconds left shrunk the deficit to a few, whereas Caitlin Clark‘s buzzer-beater nook 3 made it a two-point recreation at halftime.
“It is troublesome if you’re scuffling a bit of bit, looking for the rhythm of the sport. They usually had been so sizzling from 3,” stated Lawson. “… We simply did not enable it to alter our aggressiveness. We did not enable it to alter our confidence, and we had talked about that earlier than the sport of simply keep assured.
“They’re so good. It is gonna go their manner among the time. And yeah, massive momentum-changing 3 for C proper earlier than halftime, and we simply felt it at halftime. We actually did. We felt like we might push the gasoline pedal all the way down to the ground and get away from them.”
Collier and fellow former Husky Paige Bueckers earned their first World Cup gold medals with Sunday’s win. Bueckers solely performed two and a half minutes within the ultimate and didn’t examine again in after halftime. Lawson was not requested in her post-game press convention about Bueckers’ standing.
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The 2030 World Cup might be hosted in Tokyo and, in contrast to years previous, will run after the conclusion of the WNBA season in November and December.
This text initially revealed at Breanna Stewart leads Group USA to fifth straight World Cup gold medal with win over France.
