D’Tigress Face France In Final 2026 World Cup Group Game After Early Exit

The D’Tigress of Nigeria will play for pride when they face France in their final Group B game at the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin earlier today, September 7.

D’Tigress have already been eliminated after losing their opening two games. They suffered a 99-81 defeat to South Korea before Hungary defeated them 71-67 on Saturday.

The defeat ended Nigeria’s hopes of progressing from the group, leaving them with little more than pride at stake against France as they seek to end their campaign with a win.

However, their early exit has also raised questions about the team’s preparation, particularly the limited involvement of head coach Rena Wakama in the build-up to the tournament.

Wakama revealed before the World Cup that she only learnt a few days before leaving the United States that she would travel to Berlin, having spent part of the preparation period with WNBA side Chicago Sky.

Her late arrival meant she joined D’Tigress just four days before their opening game. By that time, the team had already completed a significant part of its pre-tournament programme in the United States, China and Spain.

Wakama’s absence dates back to April, when the Nigeria Basketball Federation announced that she would miss the team’s United States tour because of her commitments with Chicago Sky.

Assistant coach Wani Muganguzi took charge during the trip and led D’Tigress in warm-up games against WNBA sides Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx.

Nigeria lost 89-63 to the Sparks before putting up a stronger display in an 88-79 defeat to the Lynx, with Muganguzi in charge of both games.

D’Tigress subsequently travelled to China for more warm-up games before continuing their preparations in Spain, again without Wakama, before arriving in Berlin.

The lack of continuity has come under greater scrutiny following Nigeria’s poor start to the World Cup, while questions have also been raised about the squad’s quality and age.

After the defeat to South Korea, Wakama acknowledged the difficulty of the result and pointed to the cohesion of their opponents.

“It is tough when your shots weren’t falling. I thought we had great looks in the first half, really good looks. We got to the free throw line but finished the game shooting 12-23 from the free throw line. We just weren’t able to get it done,” she said.