BERLIN (Germany) - Korea won't be happy to simply celebrate the extension of their astonishing FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup appearance streak which has now extended to 18 editions.
Yes, it's incredible not to have missed a single edition since their maiden outing way back in 1959, but maybe the Asian nation will have even more reasons to celebrate at this 2026 edition.
If they can find their downtown range as they did in the Qualifying Tournament earlier this year, they can a major threat to any opponents. With confidence growing around a Korean resurgence at the top level, they might fancy their chances of a few surprises and maybe pushing for the Quarter-Finals for the first time since 2010.
How they qualified
Korea put in some impressive displays at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournament in Lyon-Villeurbanne. That is despite a seriously false start against Germany and being outclassed when they signed off against France. In between, they won three straight games, most notably, demolishing African champions, Nigeria.
FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournament (Lyon-Villeurbanne, France) Gameday 1: Germany 76-49 Korea (L) Game Report Gameday 2: Korea 77-60 Nigeria (W) Game Report Gameday 3: Korea 82-52 Colombia (W) Game Report Gameday 4: Philippines 74-105 Korea (W) Game Report Gameday 5: Korea 62-89 France (L) Game Report
Women's World Cup pedigree
Number of participations (including 2026): 18
Last participation: 2022 (10th)
Best finish: 2nd (1967, 1979)
Podium finishes:🥈(1967, 1979)
Current FIBA World Ranking for Women, presented by Nike: 15th
Last 10 FIBA events
Year | Event | Location | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
2025 | FIBA Women's Asia Cup | Shenzhen, China | 4th |
2024 | Olympic Games | Paris, France | Did not participate |
2023 | FIBA Women's Asia Cup | Sydney, Australia | 5th |
2022 | FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup | Sydney, Australia | 10th |
2021 | FIBA Women's Asia Cup | Amman, Jordan | 4th |
2020 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 10th |
2019 | FIBA Women's Asia Cup | Bengaluru, India | 4th |
2018 | FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup | Tenerife, Spain | 14th |
2017 | FIBA Women's Asia Cup | Bengaluru, India | 4th |
2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Did not participate |
The Group Phase
It's tough to figure out if the familiarity of having two opponents from the Qualifying Tournament earlier this year helps Korea - or not. They'll face a Nigeria team on a revenge mission, but conversely, Korea know they can defeat their rivals. The France game is a 'free-hit' as they will be huge underdogs. It means their fate is probably wrapped up in what might be an epic and 50-50 final group game against Hungary.
Group Phase Games
Korea vs Nigeria (Sep 4) France vs Korea (Sep 5) Hungary vs Korea (Sep 7)
Players to watch
It's likely to be a three-pronged assault for Korea, led by Leeseul Kang, Jisu Park and Jihyun Park. They also have other ballers who can step up on any given day, but in Kang they have a special scorer who has the green light to put up triples from anywhere on the floor. That has led to some memorable displays in the competition - both at the last edition in Sydney and also in the recent Qualifying Tournament.
Jisu Park might not be quite as prolific and impactful as she was when almost single handedly keeping Korea's head above water in games when younger, but she is still a colossus and especially defensively. Meanwhile her namesake Jihyun has made positives waves recently at club level and such a talented all-around guard.
Fear and Hope
The fear for Korea is that they don't have the overall depth and physical prowess in the paint outside of Jisu Park to punch their way out of the group. Any foul trouble for her and they are looking worryingly light under the basket.
The hope is that they continue to light it up from beyond the three-point line. If they are given space, they will punish opponents. Importantly, they also have a player in Jisu who can matchup with Hungary kingpin Dorka Juhasz in that last probably crunch and maybe do-or-die group game.
FIBA