D’Tigress Crash Out of World Cup as France Win Ends Nigeria’s Hopes

Oru Leonard

Nigeria’s D’Tigress have been eliminated from the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin, Germany, after France defeated South Korea 95-69, ending the African champions’ hopes of advancing to the knockout stage.

The development came less than 24 hours after Nigeria suffered a second consecutive defeat at the tournament, losing 71-67 to Hungary in a closely contested Group B encounter.

France’s emphatic victory over South Korea on Saturday, September 5, secured the European side’s second win in as many games and effectively sealed Nigeria’s fate ahead of D’Tigress’ final group match against France.

Nigeria’s defeat to Hungary had already left the reigning African champions in a difficult position, with head coach Rena Wakama admitting that her team again struggled to establish its rhythm early in the game.

D’Tigress created several scoring opportunities but failed to convert consistently, particularly from the free-throw line, where they made only 12 of 23 attempts.

“It was another rough game. It’s tough when your shots aren’t falling,” Wakama said after the defeat.

“I thought we got great looks in the first half—really, really good looks—and we got to the free-throw line. But we finished the game shooting 12 of 23 from the free-throw line.”

The coach said Nigeria’s margin for error had become increasingly small and challenged her players to produce a complete performance.

“We got better in both games. We got better literally from Game 1 to Game 2. Now it’s about putting a full game together,” she said.

Wakama also identified Nigeria’s slow starts as a major concern, noting that the team only began to show significant energy during the fourth quarter against Hungary.

“I felt like we didn’t really get flowing until the fourth quarter. We saw some life there, but my challenge for the team is just to start the game with that energy because it sets everything. Our starts haven’t been that great.”

Despite the setback, the coach noted an improvement in ball security. After committing almost 23 turnovers in their opening game, D’Tigress reduced their turnovers to 11 against Hungary.

Captain Amy Okonkwo acknowledged that Hungary’s dominance on the boards and ability to establish its rhythm made the contest difficult for Nigeria.

“It was a tough game. Hungary played very well. They out-rebounded us by a lot, and they had their rhythm while we were trying to find ours,” Okonkwo said.

She, however, insisted that the fighting spirit that characterised Nigeria’s previous World Cup campaign remained within the squad.

“I still believe that we have the spark in us. I think it just needs to translate onto the floor. We need to find it within ourselves, stay connected and find that rhythm that we’ve been looking for,” she said.

But France’s 95-69 victory over South Korea subsequently brought Nigeria’s hopes of survival to an end.

The result means D’Tigress cannot finish above either South Korea or Hungary, irrespective of the outcome of their final group fixture against France.

Even a massive victory over France would not be sufficient to take Nigeria through because of the head-to-head rule used to separate teams tied on points.

The elimination is a major disappointment for D’Tigress, who had hoped to build on Nigeria’s historic achievement at the 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Tenerife, Spain, where they reached the quarter-finals—their best-ever finish at the competition.

The 2026 tournament format provides a direct route to the quarter-finals for group winners, while teams finishing second and third enter a single-elimination qualification round for the last eight. Fourth-placed teams are eliminated after the group stage.

Nigeria’s early exit means the African champions will not feature in either the qualification round or the quarter-finals.

Attention will now turn to their final Group B game against France, where Wakama and her players will be seeking to end the campaign on a positive note despite their elimination.

D’Tigress will need to rediscover the defensive intensity, rebounding strength and offensive consistency that have been missing in their opening matches as they look to finish the tournament with pride.

Credit: Maxwell Kumoye