BERLIN – The 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup saw Hungary book its place in the tournament’s quarterfinal round on Tuesday, powered by a dominant 84-63 victory over Japan that set up a highly anticipated matchup against four-time defending champions the United States.
Reka Lelik led all scorers in the fixture with an impressive 23-point haul, while forward Virág Takács-Kiss delivered a strong supporting performance to add 17 points to Hungary’s total. The win sees Hungary advance to the final eight, where they will face the unbeaten American side in the last quarterfinal fixture scheduled for Thursday.
However, the contest was marred by a traumatic on-court incident just before halftime, when Japan starting shooting guard Saki Hayashi suffered a severe injury after an awkward fall. The player was carried off the court with what appeared to be a broken right arm, casting a shadow over the result.
Later on Wednesday, host nation Germany will step onto the court at Berlin Arena to face South Korea, with the winner claiming the final quarterfinal spot and a matchup against Belgium.
The German side, backed by thunderous home crowd support throughout the group stage, has shown steady momentum after a rocky opening to the tournament. The hosts suffered a lopsided 30-point defeat to Spain in their first group match, but have since bounced back in impressive form: they secured a 16-point 74-58 win over Japan, followed by a comfortable 25-point victory over Mali that ended 83-58.
German wing Frieda Bühner has emerged as her team’s breakout performer of the group stage, notching 19 points in the win over Japan before following that up with a 21-point outing against Mali. She is widely expected to be the key matchup against South Korea’s star forward Park Ji-hyun when the two sides tip off.
All eight quarterfinal ties are set to kick off on Thursday. Two remaining final eight spots will be decided in Wednesday’s knockout playoffs: the winner of the Italy-Australia fixture will face Spain, while the victor of the China-Puerto Rico match-up will go up against France.