Women's Basketball World Championship: France triumphs over China to reach a memorable semifinal.

Published on: 09/10/2026 - 16:28

2 min Reading time

Building on their impressive group stage performance, the French team, Olympic silver medalists in Paris, has reached a new milestone: they had been eliminated in the quarterfinals in the last six editions, the last being in 2022 in Sydney against the Chinese (85-71). The Chinese could not keep up with the pace and aggression set by the French, led by Gabby Williams (14 pts, 7 rebounds, 2 steals), supported by a significantly deeper bench.

The Chinese, with their two giants, Han Xu (2.05 m) and Zhang Ziyu (2.23 m), of whom only the former truly shone (21 pts, 9 rebounds), fell behind in the second quarter (25-20 at the end of the 1st quarter, 48-31 at halftime) before suffering another setback in the following period.

The Americans dominate the Hungarians

Three consecutive three-pointers allowed the French, who were consistently accurate from long range for three quarters before experiencing a slight dip (14/37 overall), to build a lead of over 25 points against China just before the final period (68-41, 29th minute). Among these shots, two were made by Marine Johannès, who was again crucial off the bench (15 pts, 7 assists) and represents the very cohesive team that has propelled the French into the World Cup semifinals for the first time in their history.

Meanwhile, the United States dominated Hungary (108-56) in the quarterfinals to reach the final four just ahead of the French. The Americans, four-time defending champions, will face Spain or Australia on Saturday, who will compete in the evening (20:45).

After being challenged in their second group match by Italy (55-52), they did not waste time: the game was almost decided by the end of the first quarter (36-12), and they reached the 50-point mark by the 14th minute.

The 100 points, already surpassed against the Czech Republic at the end of the group stage (105-64), were reached in the calm atmosphere of the Uber Arena, disrupted only by a Hungarian supporter, on a basket by Sonia Citron with just over five minutes remaining. But the key element of an unselfish American team (31 assists) was Napheesa Collier (19 pts and 6 rebounds).