Reviewed by Rahmon OluwoNigeria sports betting writer
Published 8 September 2026
D’Tigress lost all three of their group matches at the Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin and go out at the first stage, beaten 111 to 56 by France on Monday.
Nigeria opened against South Korea and lost 99 to 81. They then lost 71 to 67 to Hungary on Saturday, a four point margin and the closest they came to a win all week. France finished the group on Monday with the heaviest defeat of the three.
Bottom of Group B with nothing on the board
Nigeria end the tournament last in Group B with no wins and three defeats. They arrived in Germany as the reigning African champions, which is what makes the record read so strangely: a side that has not been beaten on its own continent for years did not win a single game at the World Cup.
The Hungary match is the one that will be argued about. Four points is a single possession and a free throw, and it was the game in the group that Nigeria were closest to taking. Losing it removed any route through and left the France fixture as a formality.
What it changes
For a Nigerian basketball public that has spent five years watching the women win everything in Africa, the honest reading is that continental dominance has not converted at the global level, and that gap is now the story of the programme rather than a one off. Nothing about the AfroBasket record changes; what changes is what a seeding at the next World Cup is worth.
Individual scoring figures from the France match, the quarter by quarter breakdown and the exact sequence in which Nigeria’s elimination was confirmed are not on this page, because each of them was carried by a single newsroom.
Where to bet: A women’s World Cup group game is priced more thinly than the NBA, so on a D’Tigress fixture expect match winner, handicap and total points rather than a full player market. Bet9ja and SportyBet both take Nigerian bets and price basketball in naira. A team that has just lost three in a row will be priced longer than its African record suggests, and that is exactly where a handicap line and a match winner line can disagree, so compare the two books rather than taking the first number. Our guide to the best betting sites in Nigeria covers licensing and withdrawal times, and there is more in Nigeria basketball news from AXN Sports. 18+. Gamble responsibly.
