Leonie Fiebich called Germany's third back-to-back World Cup "crazy" after a semifinal loss to France and before a bronze game against Spain.
Germany committed 24 turnovers in an 86-64 loss to France on Saturday and will play Spain for bronze on Sunday, in what is already the country's best finish at a FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.
France turned the ball over 7 times all night, 2 of them before halftime. Germany coach Olaf Lange put 10 to 12 of his team's giveaways down as "unnecessary or careless" afterward. The hosts finished with 64 points after averaging 79.4 through the quarterfinals.
Marie Gülich led Germany with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Her efficiency rating of 19 was the best on the German side. With 37 seconds left in the first quarter she hit a turnaround jumper that put Germany ahead 23-22, the only lead the hosts held all night. It lasted 11 seconds.
Between the 6:59 and 5:36 marks of the third quarter, Nyara Sabally scored 5 points on 2-of-2 shooting during a 7-0 run that pulled Germany within 54-45. France answered and pushed the margin back over 20 by the fourth. The hosts did hold France under 90 points for the first time in the tournament, against a team averaging 98.8 and shooting 45.7% from 3-point range.
Germany Still Has Chance to Make World Cup History
This is Germany's second World Cup. Satou Sabally is out with a concussion. The hosts opened the tournament with a 30-point loss to Spain, then won a play-in game against South Korea. In the quarterfinals they beat reigning EuroBasket champion Belgium 93-74, a result Lange called "German basketball's best day."
Sunday's bronze medal game is against the team that beat them by 30 in that opener.
"It's our third back-to-back (game) this tournament, which is insane. Honestly, it's crazy in that kind of tournament, a World Cup, to have three back-to-backs," Leonie Fiebich said. "We know what to do. We had a really tough game in the first game. We turned around and played really well the next game. So that's our plan, and everything's positive from now on."
The German players' names were read out to a crowd of 12,650 at Berlin Arena. A jersey reading "Germany – you, us, one team" was unfurled before tip-off, and chants of "Deutschland, Deutschland, Deutschland" started once the game began.
Germany Gets Rematch With Spain for Bronze
Spain reached the third-place game after losing 76-66 to the United States in the second semifinal Saturday. María Conde and Iyana Martín scored 17 apiece against the Americans. Martín was the seventh overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft and has not played in the league. Spain beat Australia 89-66 in the quarterfinals.
Germany came into the tournament ranked 11th in the world. The country reached the Olympics for the first time in 2024 and finished seventh in Paris. Its only EuroBasket medal is a bronze from 1997, and it placed fifth at last year's EuroBasket. Germany has never beaten France, and Saturday was the 12th meeting between the two countries since 1956.
The WNBA resumes with the playoffs once the World Cup ends.
The third-place game tips off at 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday at Berlin Arena. France and the United States follow at 2 p.m. ET.
