When is the next Team USA game at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup? Date, time and opponent for next round

Team USA earned something increasingly valuable at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup and that is time.

After completing the group stage unbeaten and securing first place in Group D, the defending champions advanced directly to the quarterfinals and avoided the additional elimination game facing teams that finished second or third.

The United States will next play on Thursday, September 10, in Berlin , with its quarterfinal opponent coming from Hungary or Japan . Those teams meet Tuesday in the Qualification to the Quarter-Finals round, with the winner moving immediately into USA’s side of the bracket.

FIBA is yet to confirm tipoff time for the American quarterfinal at the time of writing. That gives Kara Lawson ’s team a useful break after three games in four days and removes one potential obstacle from its pursuit of a fifth consecutive world championship.

Team USA earned direct path into quarterfinals

The Americans completed their preliminary schedule Monday with a 105-64 win over Czechia , finishing Group D at 3-0.

That followed a commanding opening victory against China and a much tougher 55-52 win over Italy , a game that tested USA considerably more than its other group-stage appearances.

Under the expanded 16-team format being used in Berlin, only the four group winners move directly into the last eight.

Teams finishing second and third must play another single-elimination game on September 8 or 9, while the fourth-place teams are eliminated. All four quarterfinals are then scheduled for Thursday, September 10 .

USA therefore gets to watch Tuesday’s Hungary-Japan matchup knowing its next opponent will have had to survive an additional knockout game.

Hungary and Japan offer very different potential tests

Hungary and Japan tip off at 5:45 p.m. local time in Berlin on Tuesday, September 8, which is 11:45 a.m. ET. The winner advances to face the United States.

Hungary ’s strength has largely come inside, particularly through Dorka Juhasz , while Japan offers a contrasting challenge built around pace and perimeter shooting.

Japan demonstrated just how dangerous that shooting can become in its 102-97 group-stage victory over Mali, when Saki Hayashi set a Women’s World Cup record by making nine three-pointers.

Either matchup would represent the beginning of the win-or-go-home portion of USA’s tournament. The Americans entered Berlin seeking their fifth straight Women’s World Cup crown and 12th overall.

Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese are among the players making their senior World Cup debuts, while USA is again trying to extend a run of dominance that stretches back through the previous four editions.

If the United States wins Thursday, its semifinal will be played Saturday, September 12, with the championship and bronze-medal games scheduled for Sunday, September 13.

First, though, USA can enjoy the advantage it earned by winning its group and a place in the quarterfinals without having to play again until Thursday.