MEXICO CITY (Mexico) – Only one of the eight teams competing in Mexico from August 19-25 will get a ticket to the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament, so the margin of error is minimal, and anything can happen. Taking into account those circumstances and the most recent performances from each team, these are the Power Rankings coming into the event:
8. MEXICO
Mexico has three World Cup appearances, but the most recent one came in 1975. This time around they’ll have the support of the home crowd, which could be a reason for optimism. In 2022, the team had a good showing after winning Women’s COCABA and reaching the final of Women’s CentroBasket (losing to Puerto Rico), but in 2023, they disappointed at home during the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup – earning only one victory and losing to eventual champions Brazil in the Quarterfinals.
7. MOZAMBIQUE
Mozambique reached their only World Cup in history in 2014. They’re coming off a solid performance at the FIBA Afrobasket 2023, where they finished in 5th place. There, they lost to one of the toughest teams in their continent, Nigeria, but finished the tournament with a 4-1 mark. A big part of their chances will rest upon the shoulders of center Tamara Seda, who shined at last year’s Afrobasket after averaging 19.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.
6. VENEZUELA
The Venezuelans are looking to qualify to the World Cup for the first time. They’ve kept the same nucleus for several years and have managed to add some promising young pieces. This time they’ll have the debut of Brianna Herlihy, who plays in Spain and has Venezuelan roots. They finished 4th in the last South American Basketball Championship, and in 6th place in the two most recent AmeriCups.
5. MALI
Mali is trying to gain consistency and earn a regular spot at the world stage. After qualifying to the Olympic Games in 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, they lost momentum until they returned to the 2022 World Cup in Australia. The Africans will try to level up and are relying upon Djeneba N’Diaye to lead them.
4. NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand is coming off a 4th place finish at last year’s FIBA Women’s Asia Cup. They lost in the Semi-Finals to Japan and then to Australia in the 3rd-place game. This time around they won’t have one of their leading scorers, Charlisse Leger-Walker, but they remain a dangerous squad full of quality players, with Penina Davidson among them.
3. MONTENEGRO
Montenegro is coming a successful 2023 Women’s EuroBasket. They finished in the 8th spot (their best showing since 2015) with a 3-3 record after notching important wins over quality nations like Italy, Greece and Latvia. The Europeans will miss center Natasha Mack and Jelena Vucetic, two of their top performers at last year’s EuroBasket, but Marija Lekovic and Milica Jovanovic are ready to step up in their place.
2. CZECHIA
The Europeans notched a 7th place finish at the 2023 Women’s EuroBasket and are clearly a team on an upward trajectory. Next year they will be one of four host countries at EuroBasket. Center Natalie Stoupalova (who averaged 10 points and 4 rebounds at the most recent EuroBasket) is one of the top players in the squad helmed by head coach Romana Ptackova.
1. KOREA
The Asians have the most international experience out of everyone in the field. They qualified to the 2020 Olympic Games and since 1964 they haven’t missed a single Women’s World Cup (16 straight appearances). This time, they’ll try to recover from a disappointing showing at last year’s Women’s Asia Cup, where they finished 5th after a 2-3 record that included a loss to New Zealand.
FIBA
*The power rankings are entirely subjective and are in no way a true and accurate ranking system. All comments are purely those of the author.