"We're Going to Beat Them This Time": Is France About to Dethrone Team USA? With Freelance Women’s Basketball Journalist Eden Laase

With the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup underway in Berlin, Hoopsology brings in freelance women's basketball journalist Eden Laase (The Athletic, Yahoo Sports) for a deep dive into the tournament's biggest storylines — starting with the team many believe is Team USA's most legitimate challenger yet: France. Eden breaks down exactly how France built its current golden generation, pointing to a rare convergence of elite young talent (Dominique Malonga, Pauline Astier, and Carla Leite among them), the country's growing investment in basketball academies like INSEP, and the outsized influence of Gabby Williams — an American-born naturalized French star who brought a new competitive swagger to the program.

Eden also credits Marine Johannes with opening the WNBA pipeline for French players despite pushback from the French federation, a decision that's paid off with France entering the knockout rounds a perfect 3-0 and ranked the tournament's second favorite behind the US, according to Eden, just ahead of a talented Belgium team led by Emma Meesseman and Julie Allemand. The two dig into what makes France so dangerous — elite team defense anchored by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Gabby Williams, and a roster that came within a single point of beating Team USA at the Paris 2024 gold medal game — as well as where they're vulnerable: interior size and a reliance on three-point shooting that may not hold up all tournament long.

The conversation turns to Team USA, playing without four-time MVP A'ja Wilson, and the very real chemistry questions that surfaced in a shaky group-stage win over Italy before Breanna Stewart stepped up as a go-to scorer against the Czech Republic. Eden explains why the influx of international players into the WNBA has fundamentally changed the psychology of these matchups, with rival national teams no longer intimidated by facing their own WNBA teammates and opponents.

From there, the two zoom out to discuss the broader globalization of women's basketball, including the WNBA's international expansion ambitions, Cathy Engelbert's retirement, League Pass making the league accessible worldwide, and the emergence of alternative leagues like Unrivaled and the mysterious Project B. Eden closes with a scouting report on under-the-radar teams to watch, including a surprising Hungary squad and a South Korea team on the rise, before offering casual viewers a simple way to appreciate the tournament: watch how each country's culture shows up in how its team plays. 🏀 Subscribe to Hoopsology Podcast for in-depth NBA and WNBA conversations, insider interviews, and breaking news breakdowns you won't find anywhere else. 👉 Follow Eden Laase: X/Bluesky @eden_laase, and read her France feature and more at The Athletic. 👉 Drop a comment: Can France actually beat Team USA this time?

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