BERLIN – A series of pre-tournament setbacks, including multiple key player injuries and three consecutive warm-up losses, have failed to dampen the competitive spirit and medal ambitions of the host German national team ahead of the 20th FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, kicking off this week in the German capital.
This year marks only the second time Germany has qualified for the quadrennial global tournament, 28 years after the country last hosted the event in 1998. On that historic first appearance, Germany advanced to the second group stage, and this year’s squad has set its sights on exceeding that achievement by claiming a podium finish. That goal, however, comes with significant hurdles: the team will be missing its biggest star, Satou Sabally of the WNBA’s New York Liberty, who continues to recover from a concussion – her second brain injury of 2026, sustained during a June match against the Las Vegas Aces.
Injury struggles extend beyond the elder Sabally. Her younger sister Nyara Sabally, who plays for the Toronto Tempo, has yet to return to action from a calf injury, while another key WNBA-based German player, Leonie Fiebich of New York Liberty, only recently resumed training following a prolonged foot injury recovery. Team captain Marie Gülich also just made her return to the court from a serious knee injury, stepping back into play during Germany’s 65-60 warm-up loss to Spain.
Germany’s preparations for the expanded 16-team tournament have been far from ideal, with the squad dropping three straight warm-up matches to Spain, Hungary, and most recently a narrow 63-62 defeat to Turkey in Cologne last Thursday. Despite the disappointing run of results, German guard Luisa Geiselsöder emphasized that warm-up results do not define the team’s tournament outlook. “Of course, we were hoping for a win but it was just a friendly,” she noted.
A major factor in the team’s underwhelming warm-up form is the absence of three WNBA-based players – Satou Sabally, Fiebich, and Portland Fire’s Frieda Bühner – who missed the exhibition matches due to club commitments. Head coach Olaf Lange says their arrival will transform the squad’s dynamic. “We learned a lot today,” Lange said after the Turkey defeat. “But with the three (WNBA players yet to arrive) we’re a completely different team.”
Lange also added that recent MRI results give him confidence Nyara Sabally will be fit enough to feature in the tournament. When the event gets underway, Germany will rely heavily on veteran combo guard Alexis Peterson to anchor the team’s offensive playmaking as key contributors work their way back to full match fitness.
Germany opens its 2026 World Cup campaign on Friday with a rematch against familiar rival Spain at the 14,000-capacity Berlin Arena, the main tournament venue renamed temporarily for the competition to avoid confusion over the venue’s frequently changing commercial sponsor naming rights. A second group stage match will follow on Saturday against Japan at Berlin’s historic Max-Schmeling-Halle, a 9,000-seat multipurpose venue named after legendary 1932 German heavyweight boxing champion Max Schmeling, which will also host additional tournament matches. Germany closes out Group A play against Mali on September 7, a match most analysts project as a winnable contest for the host side.
Ahead of the opening tip, Germany faces an uphill battle against Spain: the two sides have met seven times in competitive play, and Germany has never come away with a win. Their most recent matchup came during the EuroBasket group stage in Hamburg last year, where Spain claimed a comfortable 79-60 victory. For this tournament, only the bottom-placed team from each of the four groups will be eliminated from competition. Group winners earn an automatic spot in the quarterfinals, while second and third-placed teams advance to knockout playoffs to claim the remaining quarterfinal slots.
Despite the on-court challenges facing the host team, organizers are celebrating unprecedented public interest in the tournament. Officials confirmed earlier this week that more than 200,000 tickets have already been sold – a new record for the Women’s Basketball World Cup, surpassing totals from every previous edition. The September 13 final is already completely sold out.
German Basketball Federation president Ingo Weiss hailed the milestone as a sign of growing global popularity for women’s basketball. “We’re witnessing an extraordinary evolution of our sport, and this World Cup in Berlin will mark another major milestone,” Weiss said. “200,000 tickets is a fantastic sign, and we’re far from finished yet.”