China to face France, Nigeria, Mali in Women's Basketball World Cup qualifiers

GENEVA -- China will face France, Nigeria and Mali in Group B of the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup qualifying tournaments next February, after the draw was made here on Tuesday.

The four World Cup qualifiers will be played in Belgrade, Osaka and Washington D.C. from February 10 to 13, 2022, with Belgrade scheduled to host Group A and B matches.

Group A features Australia, South Korea, Serbia and Brazil. Group C matches, to be staged in Osaka, feature Bosnia and Herzegovina, Japan, Canada and Belarus. In Group D, Russia, the United States, Puerto Rico and Belgium will take each other on in Washington D.C..

The top three finishers from each qualifying tournament will secure their places in the 12-team flagship global women's basketball competition, which will take place in Sydney, Australia from September 22 to October 1, 2022.

Host nation Australia and the Tokyo Olympic champions the United States have already earned automatic qualification, meaning that the two other best-placed teams will advance from those qualifying tournaments featuring Australia and the USA.