Italy Francesca Pan and USA Caitlin Clark fight for the ball during a game between The United States and Italy in the group phase at the FIBA Women s Basketball World Cup, on Sunday 6 September 2026, in Berlin, Germany. The FIBA Women s Basketball World Cup takes place in Berlin from 4 to 23 September 2026. VIRGINIExLEFOUR PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxBELxFRAxNEDxLUX x185482881x
Italy Francesca Pan and USA Caitlin Clark fight for the ball during a game between The United States and Italy in the group phase at the FIBA Women s Basketball World Cup, on Sunday 6 September 2026, in Berlin, Germany. The FIBA Women s Basketball World Cup takes place in Berlin from 4 to 23 September 2026. VIRGINIExLEFOUR PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxBELxFRAxNEDxLUX x185482881x
Just one day after arguably the best all-around performance of her international career, Caitlin Clark delivered the worst performance of her entire career on the same stage.
The Indiana Fever star went scoreless from the field in Team USA's narrow 55-52 win over Italy at the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup in Berlin on Sunday.
And according to ESPN Insights on X, "Caitlin Clark went 0-for-6 with one point in the United States' three-point win over Italy at the FIBA Women's World Cup on Sunday. She has never gone 0-for in a WNBA or collegiate game."
USA Caitlin Clark and Italy Francesca Pasa fight for the ball during a game between The United States and Italy in the group phase at the FIBA Women s Basketball World Cup, on Sunday 6 September 2026, in Berlin, Germany. The FIBA Women s Basketball World Cup takes place in Berlin from 4 to 23 September 2026. VIRGINIExLEFOUR PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxBELxFRAxNEDxLUX x185482511x
USA Caitlin Clark and Italy Francesca Pasa fight for the ball during a game between The United States and Italy in the group phase at the FIBA Women s Basketball World Cup, on Sunday 6 September 2026, in Berlin, Germany. The FIBA Women s Basketball World Cup takes place in Berlin from 4 to 23 September 2026. VIRGINIExLEFOUR PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxBELxFRAxNEDxLUX x185482511x
Clark finished the contest with just a single point in 19 minutes. She missed all six of her field goal attempts, including three from three-point range.
Along with four rebounds, one assist, and two turnovers, Clark spent the final seven-plus minutes watching from the bench as head coach Kara Lawson trusted veteran point guard Chelsea Gray to help the team win.
More frustratingly, it comes just one day after her 14-point, 11-assist performance against China. Her 11-assist mark was the most by any USA Basketball player in their FIBA World Cup debut.
Clark's previous career-low outing was three points on 1-of-10 shooting for the Fever against the New York Liberty back in June 2024.
Before that, her roughest shooting night at Iowa came in a December 2022 loss to the Northwestern Wildcats, when she missed 75% of her shots. But she still finished with 8 points on 3-of-12 shooting.
And her low point in the WNBA, that 1-of-10 game against the Liberty, still included one made basket.
However, it was not just a bad night for Clark.
"The trio of Clark, Kahleah Copper and Breanna Stewart combined to go 1-19 in the win. Each player ranks in the Top 7 in the WNBA in scoring this season," ESPN Insights noted on the same X post.
The entire United States squad found itself stuck against Italy’s aggressive, physical 2-3 zone defense. As a whole, the Americans shot 29 percent from the floor and 1-of-12 from three-point range.
So, what's next for Team USA?
Despite the scare, the narrow victory secured Team USA's spot in the knockout stage and extended the historic World Cup winning streak to 32 consecutive games.
A win over the Czech Republic on Monday in Berlin would also lock up the No. 1 seed out of Group D and a direct trip to the quarterfinals.
On paper, Monday's matchup looks far less threatening. The Czechs enter ranked No. 17 in the FIBA standings — the lowest of any team in the entire 16-team field, and below Italy (No. 14) and China (No. 4), the other two teams in Team USA's group.
But after needing a fourth-quarter rally to hold off a team ranked 14th in the world, Team USA has already learned the lesson of this tournament: nobody is safe.
"We've seen that through the tournament that every game feels like a dogfight. It's really hard. On any given night, if you're not prepared to play, you'll lose," Head coach Kara Lawson said, per ESPN.
Written by
Md Saife Fida