Not Only Stars and Stripes — FIBA Women’s World Cup Day 3

The Women’s Basketball World Cup underway in Berlin has delivered its first verdicts, writing into the record books the names of the four powerhouses that secured direct qualification to the quarterfinals: the heavily favored Americans, aiming for their fifth consecutive title; France, the most spectacular team of the tournament; the European champions Belgium; and Spain.

And what about Italy? After the narrow, last‑minute loss to Team USA on Day 2, the Azzurre’s hopes of finishing first were hanging by a thread. They would have needed a win against China and an unlikely American collapse against the Czech Republic — two events that, in the end, came nowhere close to happening.

Caitlin Clark and her teammates predictably steamrolled their opponents of the day with a telling 105–64. After the scare they suffered against Italy, the stars‑and‑stripes champions returned to showcasing their spectacular brand of basketball — fast, physical, technical, and seemingly without weaknesses.

Shooting over 52% from the field and with six players in double figures says a lot about an offense that went back to producing points like in its best days, turning the previous game’s lackluster performance into nothing more than a minor bump in the road. As for the Czechs, after coming close to a major upset against China in the previous round, they looked drained and discouraged from the opening minutes, bowing out of a World Cup in which they probably deserved more.

If the Americans learned the right lesson from their battle with Italy, for the Azzurre coming within a breath of making history brought only negative aftershocks. Beating China in the final group game would have meant a theoretically softer play‑in matchup, but Capobianco’s players were never truly in the contest.

The physicality under the basket of China’s two towering bigs, Zhang Ziyu and Han Xu (2.23 and 2.08 meters respectively), was overwhelming — but just as impressive was the shooting form of their perimeter players, who punished Italy from beyond the arc every time the Azzurre seemed to have found a defensive key in the paint.

The final 71–51 score accurately reflects a game already decided in the first quarter (23–7 for China), in which Italy, beyond the obvious athletic mismatch, seemed to pay the mental toll of the near‑miracle they had touched the day before against the USA. Now, in the play‑in, Italy will face Australia — an opponent that in many ways resembles China in physicality and style of play. At their absolute best, Italy can pull off the upset, but the odds are certainly not in their favor.

_{Zhang Ziyu, https://news.zhibo8.com/nba/2024-06-30/6681303f3ccffnative.htm, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons}

Australia, as we were saying, reaches the play‑in after losing the direct clash with Belgium on the final day, which allowed the European champions to qualify straight to the quarterfinals. It was a largely balanced game until the fourth quarter, when Belgium’s ball‑movement speed made the difference. Emma Meesseman finished with twenty‑two points — perhaps the most complete European player at the moment.

The great chaos of Group A was finally resolved in Spain’s favor: by clearly beating Japan, they managed to secure first place thanks to a better point differential over Germany. The Germans, considered something of an outsider in this tournament, managed to get the better of the dangerous Mali and have already reached the quarterfinals, having dispatched South Korea in yesterday’s play‑in.

For them, tomorrow brings a high‑tension quarterfinal showdown with Belgium — a matchup perhaps less predictable than one might have imagined just a few days ago. Will home‑court advantage prevail, or pure technique? Belgium have yet to show any real weaknesses, but Germany are an unusual and tricky opponent to face, especially when playing at home.

Lastly, we deliberately saved the “sweetest cookie”: France, by far the best team of the first phase. The margin of victory over Nigeria was an astonishing 55 points, which, added to the 46‑point win over Hungary and the 26‑point win against South Korea, makes them unquestionably the most dominant team in the entire tournament.

Their shooting percentages are remarkable, and their ease in finding offensive solutions both inside and outside the paint makes France the most dangerous opponent for the Americans in the race for the gold medal. In fact, according to some analysts, Gabby Williams and her teammates are the true favorites to win it all.

We’ll see how it unfolds — until next time!

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