Australian Opals shoot for gold at 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup on ESPN – ESPN Australia will broadcast every game of the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup live and exclusive from Germany.
The tournament begins on Friday, 4 September AEST and runs through to Sunday, 13 September AEST. Every match will stream on ESPN on Disney+.
For Australian basketball fans, the event gives the Opals another major prime-time showcase after their bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games. Australia also won silver at the 2018 World Cup and bronze at home in 2022.
How to watch the Opals
All games from the tournament will be available on ESPN on Disney+.
Selected marquee matches will also air on ESPN through Kayo Sports, Foxtel, Fetch TV and Sky NZ. That includes every Australian Opals game, every United States game and the FIBA Women’s World Cup Finals.
ESPN’s Australian coverage will be led by host Kane Pitman, with Australian Opals representatives Bec Allen, Alice Kunek and Anneli Mailey, plus former Australian Boomers player Ryan Broekhoff.
Australian Opals squad
The Australian squad includes six members of the team that won bronze at the 2024 Olympic Games.
The Opals squad is Zitina Aokuso, Chloe Bibby, Isobel Borlase, Isabelle Bourne, Alex Fowler, Ezi Magbegor, Jade Melbourne, Steph Reid, Alanna Smith, Steph Talbot, Miela Sowah and Alex Wilson.
The United States will enter as defending champion and tournament favourite, having won five straight gold medals. The star-studded Team USA roster includes WNBA players Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, Kahleah Copper, Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson.
Other contenders include Belgium, France, host nation Germany, China and Japan.
FIBA Women’s World Cup on ESPN: group fixtures
Friday, 4 September
- 7.00pm AEST – Australia v Puerto Rico, ESPN and ESPN on Disney+
- 7.20pm AEST – Mali v Japan, ESPN on Disney+
- 10.05pm AEST – China v United States, ESPN and ESPN on Disney+
- 10.20pm AEST – Nigeria v Korea, ESPN on Disney+
Saturday, 5 September
- 1.20am AEST – Turkiye v Belgium, ESPN on Disney+
- 1.35am AEST – Germany v Spain, ESPN on Disney+
- 4.05am AEST – Italy v Czechia, ESPN on Disney+
- 4.50am AEST – France v Hungary, ESPN on Disney+
- 7.20pm AEST – Spain v Mali, ESPN on Disney+
- 10.05pm AEST – Hungary v Nigeria, ESPN on Disney+
Sunday, 6 September
- 1.50am AEST – Japan v Germany, ESPN on Disney+
- 4.35am AEST – Korea v France, ESPN and ESPN on Disney+
- 7.00pm AEST – Australia v Turkiye, ESPN and ESPN on Disney+
- 10.20pm AEST – Czechia v China, ESPN on Disney+
Monday, 7 September
- 1.35am AEST – Belgium v Puerto Rico, ESPN on Disney+
- 4.35am AEST – United States v Italy, ESPN and ESPN on Disney+
- 7.00pm AEST – Australia v Belgium, ESPN and ESPN on Disney+
- 7.20pm AEST – Turkiye v Puerto Rico, ESPN on Disney+
- 10.20pm AEST – France v Nigeria, ESPN and ESPN on Disney+
- 10.20pm AEST – Korea v Hungary, ESPN on Disney+
Tuesday, 8 September
- 1.40am AEST – Spain v Japan, ESPN on Disney+
- 1.40am AEST – Mali v Germany, ESPN on Disney+
- 4.35am AEST – Czechia v United States, ESPN and ESPN on Disney+
- 4.35am AEST – China v Italy, ESPN on Disney+
ESPN and ESPN2 are available on Disney+, Foxtel, Kayo Sports, Fetch TV and Sky NZ.
For more basketball coverage, visit TV Central’s Basketball section. More ESPN programming information is available at ESPN Australia.
