If you’re looking for more women’s basketball while you wait for the NCAA tournament to kick off and the WNBA offseason to take shape, Team USA has you covered. The 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup is set to begin on September 4 and run through September 13. 16 nations will compete in the World Cup, and five squads have already earned their spots: Germany, Belgium, Australia, Nigeria, and the United States. But first, the qualifying tournaments must determine which other nations will compete in the World Cup.

With 11 spots remaining, 24 nations will compete in the qualifying tournaments. But you might be asking, if the United States has already clinched a spot, why are they competing in the qualifying tournaments? Well, Team USA and other already solidified nations will use these tournaments as a preparation tool. It allows coaches and staff to test new lineups against future WC opponents.

Team USA will compete in Group A against Senegal, Puerto Rico, Italy, New Zealand, and Spain.

FIBA Women’s World Cup 2026 qualifying schedule

Wednesday, March 11 (5 p.m. ET)

• USA vs. Senegal (TruTV & HBO Max)

Thursday, March 12 (8 p.m. ET)

• USA vs. Puerto Rico (TruTV & HBO Max)

Saturday, March 14 (5 p.m. ET)

• USA vs. Italy (TruTV & HBO Max)

Saturday, March 15 (2 p.m. ET)

• USA vs. New Zealand (TruTV & HBO Max)

Monday, March 17 (5 p.m. ET)

• USA vs. Spain (TNT & HBO Max)

Who’s playing for Team USA?

If you tune into the qualifying tournament, you will definitely be seeing some of your favorites. Team USA released the roster last week, and it is full of young talent.

Roster: Monique Billings, Paige Bueckers, Rae Burrell, Caitlin Clark, Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, Kiki Iriafen, Kelsey Plum, Angel Reese, Jackie Young

Now, there are some players like A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart missing from this roster. For Breanna Stewart, she was in training camp with the team but is not on the official roster simply due to schedule management. She will be going to play overseas in the EuroLeague for Fenerbahçe next month.

You might also be questioning where a couple of the younger stars are, like Aliyah Boston and Sonia Citron. Unfortunately, both of them suffered injuries at the end of the Unrivaled season. Monique Billings and Rae Burrell replaced them on the roster.

What to watch for

We just got to watch 11 of these 12 players play at Unrivaled over the last three months, so we know they’re in peak shape. We even saw a few take a leap in their game, which makes this Team USA opportunity even more exciting. The only player who didn’t participate in Unrivaled was Caitlin Clark. After being injured for the majority of the last WNBA season, we haven’t gotten to see Clark play basketball in nearly 8 months. Seeing her hit the court will surely be a breath of fresh air for her fans.

The starting lineup opportunities for this tournament will be intriguing as well. There are so many different combinations we could see. The squad is absolutely stacked at the guard position. Caitlin Clark is an obvious weapon, but the USA also has Paige Bueckers, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, and Kelsey Plum at the helm. Team USA’s backcourt is bound to be dominant.

Women’s basketball fans are excited to see Bueckers and Clark team up for the first time on the senior national team. When asked about teaming up with Clark, Paige Bueckers said, “It’s crazy…everybody’s pinned me and Caitlin against each other for the longest time, and we’re cool, we’re friends … We understand how media works, they wanna pin two people against each other, and they’re supposed to hate each other … To have two fanbases that really hate each other have to come together for a couple of months will be really fun.”

More women’s basketball news and analysis: