D’Tigress Face Host France In FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifier

D’Tigress Face Host France In FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifier

By Niyi Busari 

Nigeria’s women’s national basketball team, Nigeria women's national basketball team, will take on host nation France women's national basketball team on Sunday in a key fixture of the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup qualification tournaments, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

The match will be played at the Astroballe Arena in Villeurbanne, near Lyon, France

The qualifying tournament forms part of the build-up to the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, which will take place in Berlin, Germany, from 4–13 September 2026.

Nigeria have already secured their place at the tournament after winning the 2025 FIBA Women's AfroBasket. The current qualifiers therefore provide an opportunity for the African champions to test themselves against top international opposition and improve their global ranking ahead of the World Cup.

D’Tigress head into Sunday’s encounter after three matches in the competition, recording two victories and one defeat.

They opened their campaign with a commanding 70–37 win over Colombia, before suffering a 77–60 loss to South Korea. Nigeria responded strongly in their most recent outing, defeating the Philippines 101–84 in an impressive comeback performance after trailing at halftime.

The victory over the Philippines marked Nigeria’s second win in three games and demonstrated the team’s attacking depth, surpassing the 100-point mark for the first time in the tournament.

The team is led by head coach Rena Wakama, who made history as the first woman to coach Nigeria’s senior women’s national basketball team.

Under her leadership, D’Tigress captured the AfroBasket title and reached the quarter-finals at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, marking a significant milestone for Nigerian women’s basketball.

Sunday’s match is widely regarded as Nigeria’s toughest fixture of the tournament, with France among Europe’s leading basketball nations and the host of the qualifying event.

For Nigeria, the encounter offers an opportunity to measure themselves against elite competition while continuing preparations for the World Cup.

The African champions will also be aiming to maintain their upward trajectory on the global stage and further strengthen their reputation as one of the most dominant teams in women’s basketball outside Europe and North America.