Nigeria’s D’Tigress have been eliminated from the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup after France defeated South Korea 95-69 in Berlin on Saturday.
France’s victory gave the European side a second straight win in Group B and confirmed Nigeria’s exit before the African champions play their final group game against France on Monday.
The result ended Nigeria’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages after consecutive defeats to South Korea and Hungary.
D’Tigress opened their campaign with an 81-99 loss to South Korea before falling 71-67 to Hungary on Saturday.
Amy Okonkwo led Nigeria with 22 points against South Korea, while the team improved defensively against Hungary but could not complete a late comeback.
The elimination is a setback for a team that came into the tournament as reigning African champions and one of Africa’s leading hopes.
Nigeria won the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket for a record fifth consecutive title.
Nigeria’s best World Cup performance remains the 2018 tournament in Spain, where D’Tigress reached the quarterfinals and finished eighth.
They lost all five games on their World Cup debut in 2006 and did not return until 2018.
This year, Nigeria are also one of only two African teams at the expanded 16-team tournament.
Mali, the other representative, have already recorded a major result by beating Spain 82-73 and currently have a 1-1 record in Group A.
Although Monday’s meeting with France can no longer save Nigeria’s World Cup campaign, it remains important for Rena Wakama’s side.
A strong performance would give D’Tigress a chance to end a disappointing tournament on a positive note.
Wakama previously said after Nigeria’s narrow loss to Hungary: “We just weren’t able to get it done today.”
France, ranked No. 2 in the world, will provide another difficult test.
Nigeria are ranked eighth.
D’Tigress will now look to Monday’s final game not for qualification, but for pride, a response and a better finish to their campaign.
Comments
Add a comment