The crowd was great, the basketball was fine, the weather was awful. Emmet Ryan on his opening experience going multi-arena at the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup and how Spain and Germany shifted his spirits.
I had to race from the Max Schmeling Halle to the Uber Arena. It was raining violently, the tram was delayed. Then we had to change trams for mechanical reasons. I made it right into the gym just as the game was tipping.
It still looked like I had arrived earlier than Germany.
Through the opening six minutes Spain went all out in a dominant display against a dozing Deutschland. A 14 point lead was built up with ease. This felt like Spain had decided they were going to have a rout and it didn’t look like Germany would be able to do anything about it.
This is still a fight
Wide as the margin was for Spain early, this was a notable step up in intensity from the USA vs China game earlier. Germany may have looked shellshocked but they still found a way to make each possession a true contest.
The thing nobody says out loud in women’s international basketball is that the gaps along the way at the top are far more noticeable than in the middle. There’s the USA, then there’s Spain, Belgium, France, and Australia, then there’s a drop to Japan, just them.
After that it’s Korea, Germany, China, Nigeria, and others all trying to prove they belong a step up. The other European trio of Türkiye, Czechia, and Hungary all in the conversation for being in that next group. For all of these teams, it’s a case of trying to be in the battle for a lesser medal.
In front of a packed home crowd, Germany were finding out how tough that step up to the higher group really is.
Yet this matters
Over 217,000 tickets had been sold for this tournament before the first ball was tipped. That’s an average of 12,000 per session and, essentially, a sellout when the capacities of both arenas come into play.
A double header in Cologne a week ago, featuring a warm-up game for the Germany women and a qualifier for the men, had 10,000 in the door for a 5pm tip on a Thursday for the latter. This is a country that loves to support its teams and is hungry for this sport.
The beatdown they were getting in the Uber Arena was sub-optimal. It was 39-20 after 16 minutes for context, but these are the blows you’ve got to take along the way. This is only the third World Cup appearance ever for the Germany women, and the first of those was as East Germany. You don’t simply walk in and trouble Spain.
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But, yeah, I was wet
Getting to the Max Schmeling Halle earlier was a no-stress and, most importantly, dry experience. Despite my health issues with fatigue that feels like it wants to end me permanently, another doctor’s visit is certain post-tournament, I was in good form arriving.
The mixed zone went fine and it was off to the Uber Arena with seemingly loads of time. Then the downpour hit. Wearing a suit jacket wasn’t ideal. Not wearing any kind of raingear was worse. There will be beers later and, hopefully, I can get the blazer dry by the morning.
Of course, as I got to my seat seconds before opening tip, I simply had to see a chap in an Ireland Basketball t-shirt. We’re bloody everywhere. That is one of the cool things about this tournament, fans have made the journey because they know the best players are treating it with the respect it deserves.
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Good to be back
Running into Maris Noviks, Dave Hein, Benni Zander, and Cesare Milanti on my first day covering games was quite cool. It’s my first major women’s tournament at the adult level, and the only youth one I went to was held in Ireland
There are journalists from 75 countries here, with over 500 media members in total attending. That’s the level of attention an event like this has long deserved but it took a while to get there. There will be blowouts, especially in the group phase, but standout displays will be what decides how much this tournament can gain from the hype.
We can all hope that somebody runs the USA close. The real goal is to show more competitive depth with fans coming away aware of far more stars of the game than when the tournament started.
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