The last time France and Team USA met, there was an Olympic gold medal on the line. The U.S. won by a single point after France\u2019s potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer was ruled a two-pointer.<\/p>\n
Now, two years later, the two countries meet again \u2014 this time with World Cup gold up for grabs.<\/p>\n
Team USA faces France in the 2026 World Cup final Sunday at 2 p.m. in Berlin. The winner takes home the gold, while the loser walks away with silver. Germany and Spain will battle for the bronze.<\/p>\n
While Team USA looks to extend its dominant, unbeaten streak, France will look to play spoiler, avenge its Olympic loss, and continue to rewrite its women’s basketball history.<\/p>\n
The U.S. is the four-time reigning World Cup champs and has won 35 consecutive games in the tournament. A gold on Sunday would not only give the Americans a fifth straight title but tie them with the Soviet Union for most consecutive World Cup championships.<\/p>\n
France is playing in its first World Cup final. By defeating Germany in Saturday\u2019s semifinal, the French are guaranteed to medal for the first time in the World Cup since its inception in 1953.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what you need to know:<\/p>\n
Bronze-medal game: Germany vs Spain at 10:30 a.m. ET on TNT, truTV and HBO Max<\/p>\n
Gold-medal game: Team USA vs France at 2 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV and HBO Max<\/p>\n
Jackie Young leads the Americans with 11.2 points per game, followed by Stewart with 11.0. The former Husky leads the squad with 6.8 rebounds per game.<\/p>\n
Fellow former Husky star Gabby Williams led France in its victory over host Germany in Saturday\u2019s earlier semifinal. Williams led all players with 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in the 86-64 win. France\u2019s defense stole the show with 14 steals and 29 points off Germany\u2019s 25 turnovers.<\/p>\n
Williams leads France with 18.4 points, 3.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game. France also leads the tournament with 96.2 points per game (Team USA is second with 87.6), a 51.6 field goal percentage and a 44.2 clip from the 3-point line.<\/p>\n
“They’re a really tough team,” Stewart told TNT following Saturday’s semifinal win. “They’re shooting the (expletive) out of the ball this tournament, but we have a quick turnaround.”<\/p>\n
While France will hope to avenge its Olympic final loss to the Americans and win its first major-tournament gold medal, Team USA has more on the line heading into Sunday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n
The Americans haven\u2019t lost a major international tournament game since falling to Russia in the World Cup semifinals in 2006. That\u2019s 35 straight victories in the World Cup and 61 straight in the Olympics. In fact, Team USA has only lost a total of three times in the last four decades across the World Cup and Olympics.<\/p>\n