The United States women's basketball team arrive in Berlin chasing a fifth straight world title, yet for the first time in a decade they do so without their defining star. Health problems have ruled out four-time WNBA Most Valuable Player A'ja Wilson, and Kelsey Plum is absent too. Losing both leaders has handed the chasing pack a rare flicker of hope, though the wave of injuries has cut through the contenders just as sharply. Hosts Germany are without Satou Sabally after a concussion, while Australia lose 38-year-old Sami Whitcomb to a knee problem.
The battle begins. France are more than capable of beating the Americans; theirs is a squad that "absolutely has the talent to win one game against Team USA." Berlin's floor will stage the fiercest of basketball wars, and on it the fate of a weakened American hegemony will be settled.
