Overview
- USA Basketball announced on Monday that A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum withdrew for health reasons and that Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen were added as replacements.
- The 12‑player U.S. roster is unusually youth‑heavy with about half the team making its World Cup debut and every player drawn from the WNBA.
- Coach Kara Lawson told reporters on Tuesday that global competition has tightened and that minutes and starting roles, including Caitlin Clark's status, were still not finalized.
- The 2026 tournament uses a 16‑team field that cuts preliminary play to three games, which reduces opportunities to test rotations before single‑elimination rounds.
- All 36 games will stream on HBO Max and U.S. broadcasts will air on TNT and truTV, and analysts name France as the likeliest external threat to end the U.S. streak.