World Cup Exit: D’Tigress Face Tough France Test in Final Group Game

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

D’Tigress have already been knocked out after losing their first two games. They lost 99-81 to South Korea before Hungary beat them 71-67 on Saturday.

It was a setback that ended Nigeria’s hope of making it out of the group with little more than pride at stake against France as they look to finish their campaign on a high note with a win.

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

Wakama told the BBC ahead of the World Cup that she only found out a few days before leaving the United States that she would be going to Berlin, having spent some of the build-up period with WNBA side Chicago Sky.

Having arrived late, she joined D’Tigress just four days to their opening game. By then the team had already completed a big part of its pre-tournament program in the United States, China and Spain.

Wakama’s absence goes back to April when the Nigeria Basketball Federation said she would miss the team’s US tour because of her commitments with Chicago Sky.

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

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

D’Tigress then moved on to China for additional warm-up games, then back to Spain for more preparation, once again without Wakama, before arriving in Berlin.

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

Wakama admitted the result was tough to take following the loss to South Korea and credited the togetherness of their opponents.

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