France call up eight WNBA players for World Cup

France will have eight WNBA players in its squad planning for the Women’s Basketball World Cup in Germany, avoiding the availability problem that affected the previous European Championship. The WNBA will pause during the tournament, with no games scheduled from August 31 to September 18, allowing the players to join the national team.

The eight called-up players are Leïla Lacan of Connecticut Sun, Valériane Ayayi of Phoenix Mercury, Janelle Salaün and Gabby Williams of Golden State Valkyries, Carla Leite of Toronto Tempo, Pauline Astier and Marine Johannes of New York Liberty, and Dominique Malonga of Seattle Storm. Lacan is due in Paris on August 27. Ayayi, Salaün and Williams will arrive in Berlin on August 29, followed by Leite, Astier and Johannes on August 30. Malonga is scheduled to arrive on August 31.

Salaün, Williams, Astier and Johannes are the only four among the group guaranteed places in the WNBA play-offs. The other four players have been eliminated from the league postseason. Leite, 22, is also the only one of the eight who was not part of France’s silver-medal Olympic team in 2024.

France will select the remaining four World Cup players after two closed-door training matches against Italy on Thursday and Friday. The team’s current preparation group includes Marième Badiane, Romane Bernies, Alexia Chéry, Migna Touré and Aïnhoa Risacher. At the World Cup, France will face Hungary, South Korea and Nigeria in the group phase from September 4 to 13.