World Cup Crisis: D’Tigress Battle France After Early Exit Threat

Nigeria’s D’Tigress will take on France in their final Group B fixture of the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin on Monday, September 7, with the team already eliminated from the competition following two consecutive defeats.

The Nigerian side opened its campaign with a 99-81 loss to South Korea before suffering another setback against Hungary, who secured a 71-67 victory on Saturday. The back-to-back defeats ended D’Tigress’ hopes of advancing from the group, leaving the encounter with France as an opportunity to finish the tournament on a positive note.

The team’s early elimination has also intensified concerns about its preparation for the competition, particularly the limited involvement of head coach Rena Wakama during the build-up.

Wakama disclosed before the tournament that she only became aware a few days before departing the United States that she would be travelling to Berlin. At the time, she had been involved with WNBA side Chicago Sky as part of her professional commitments.

As a result, Wakama joined the Nigerian team just four days before their opening World Cup fixture. By then, D’Tigress had already completed a significant portion of their preparations across the United States, China and Spain.

The coach’s absence began in April when the Nigeria Basketball Federation announced that she would miss the team’s United States tour because of her Chicago Sky commitments. Assistant coach Wani Muganguzi subsequently took charge of the squad during the trip.

Under Muganguzi, D’Tigress played warm-up matches against WNBA teams Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx. Nigeria lost 89-63 to the Sparks before suffering an 88-79 defeat to the Lynx despite putting up a stronger performance.

The team later continued its preparations in China and Spain, again without Wakama, before eventually arriving in Berlin for the World Cup.

The lack of continuity in the coaching set-up has attracted increased scrutiny following Nigeria’s disappointing start to the tournament, with questions also being raised about the overall quality and age profile of the squad.

After the opening defeat to South Korea, Wakama acknowledged the disappointment while pointing to Nigeria’s inability to convert its opportunities. She noted that the team created several good scoring chances but struggled with its shooting efficiency, particularly from the free-throw line.

D’Tigress will now look to put their earlier defeats behind them and produce a strong performance against France as they seek to end their World Cup campaign with a victory.