Nigeria’s D’Tigress have been eliminated from the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup after a 111-56 defeat to France in their final group-stage game in Berlin, Germany. The result condemned the African champions to a third consecutive defeat at the tournament, following earlier losses to South Korea and Hungary, and left them at the bottom of their group.
Nigeria endured a disastrous opening quarter, falling 31-13 behind before France extended the advantage to 65-26 by halftime. The gap widened further in the third quarter, with France taking a 95-36 lead into the final period. D’Tigress showed some fight in the fourth quarter but could not alter the outcome, losing by 55 points.
The defeat came after a strong run for the Nigerian side, who had won a fifth consecutive continental title and reached the Olympic quarter-finals for the first time at the previous Games. That form, however, failed to translate to the global stage as D’Tigress struggled throughout the tournament, with their shortcomings most severely exposed against France.
The result marked Nigeria’s third appearance at the Women’s World Cup and a major setback from their 2018 run to the quarter-finals. D’Tigress had also qualified for the 2022 tournament but did not participate after the Federal Government imposed a ban on the country’s national basketball teams, with Mali taking Nigeria’s place.
