2026 World Baseball Classic
Tournament details
Countries  Japan
 Puerto Rico[a]
 United States
Cities United States Houston, Texas
United States Miami, Florida
Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico
Japan Tokyo, Japan
Dates March 5–17, 2026
Teams 20
Tournament statistics
Attendance 153,828
← 2023

The 2026 World Baseball Classic is an international professional baseball tournament between 20 national baseball teams, and the sixth iteration of the World Baseball Classic (WBC). It began on March 5, 2026, and will run until March 17.[1] The pool-play rounds are being played in Miami, Florida; Houston, Texas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Tokyo, Japan. The quarterfinals will be split between Miami and Houston; the semi-finals and the final will be played in Miami.[2]

The top two teams from the Americas (alongside Olympic hosts United States) will qualify for the 2028 Olympic baseball tournament, to be held in Los Angeles.[3] Japan is the defending champion, having defeated the United States in the 2023 WBC championship game.[4]

Teams

Qualification

Qualification status:
  Qualified for the 2026 World Baseball Classic
  Participated in the qualifier but failed to qualify
Main article: 2026 World Baseball Classic qualification

16 teams qualified for the 2026 WBC tournament by virtue of having placed in the top four of their respective pools in the 2023 World Baseball Classic tournament.

Four additional teams qualified through the 2026 WBC qualifying tournament.[5][2] The qualifying tournament included 8 teams, downsized from the 12 teams that had competed in the 2023 WBC qualifiers. The first pool took place in Taipei, and included Chinese Taipei, Spain, Nicaragua, and South Africa; the second pool took place in Tucson, Arizona, and included Colombia, China, Brazil, and Germany.[6] The Taipei pool ran from February 21–25, 2025, and the Tucson pool ran from March 2–6, 2025.[7]

Colombia, Nicaragua, Brazil, and Chinese Taipei all qualified for the 2026 WBC. Brazil qualified for the first time since 2013. China failed to qualify for the first time in the World Baseball Classic, as it was eliminated after it lost all three of its games in the qualifiers.

Qualified teams
Region Team Qualification
method		 Prev.
apps		 Previous best result WBSC world
ranking1[8]
Americas  Brazil Qualifiers Pool B 2nd-place playoff winner 1 Pool stage (2013) 22
 Canada 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C 3rd place 5 Pool stage (2006, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023) 20
 Colombia Qualifiers Pool B winner 2 Pool stage (2017, 2023) 13
 Cuba 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool A winner 5 Runners-up (2006) 10
 Dominican Republic 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D 3rd place 5 Champions (2013) 12
 Mexico 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C winner 5 3rd place (2023) 6
 Nicaragua Qualifiers Pool A winner 1 Pool stage (2023) 16
 Panama 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool A 4th place 3 Pool stage (2006, 2009, 2023) 8
 Puerto Rico 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D Runners-up 5 Runners-up (2013, 2017) 7
 United States 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C Runners-up 5 Champions (2017) 3
 Venezuela 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D winner 5 3rd place (2009) 5
Asia  Chinese Taipei Qualifiers Pool A Second-place playoff winner 5 Quarterfinals (2013) 2
 Japan 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B winner 5 Champions (2006, 2009, 2023) 1
 South Korea 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B 3rd place 5 Runners-up (2009) 4
Europe  Czechia 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B 4th place 1 Pool stage (2023) 15
 Great Britain 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C 4th place 1 Pool stage (2023) 19
 Israel 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D 4th place 2 Quarterfinals (2017) 21
 Italy 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool A Runners-up 5 Quarterfinals (2013, 2023) 14
 Netherlands 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool A 3rd place 5 4th place (2013, 2017) 9
Oceania  Australia 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B Runners-up 5 Quarterfinals (2023) 11

1 Ranking as of December 31, 2025

Pools

The pools and schedule were announced on August 21, 2024. Each pool contained an unspecified winner of a qualifier.[9] The pool assignments of the teams that advanced from the qualifiers (pot 5) were announced on April 9, 2025.[10] The pool assignments prioritized the hosts (Japan, Puerto Rico, and the United States). The remaining pool assignments were made based on WBSC World Rankings, competitive balance, and commercial and geographic interest.

Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the WBSC World Rankings at the time of the announcement of the pools.[11]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 Pot 5
 Japan (1) (H)
 United States (5) (H)
 Puerto Rico (9) (H)
 Venezuela (3)		  Mexico (4)
 South Korea (6)
 Netherlands (7)
 Panama (8)		  Cuba (10)
 Dominican Republic (11)
 Australia (12)
 Italy (14)		  Czech Republic (15)
 Great Britain (18)
 Israel (19)
 Canada (22)		  Chinese Taipei (2)
 Colombia (13)
 Nicaragua (16)
 Brazil (23)

Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the WBSC World Rankings at the time of the announcement of the pools. The decimal number represents the average ranking in the designated pool.

Pot Pool A (12.4) Pool B (12.8) Pool C (7.2) Pool D (11.2)
Puerto Rico San Juan United States Houston Japan Tokyo United States Miami
Pot 1  Puerto Rico (9) (H)  United States (5) (H)  Japan (1) (H)  Venezuela (3)
Pot 2  Panama (8)  Mexico (4)  South Korea (6)  Netherlands (7)
Pot 3  Cuba (10)  Italy (14)  Australia (12)  Dominican Republic (11)
Pot 4  Canada (22)  Great Britain (18)  Czechia (15)  Israel (19)
Pot 5  Colombia (13)  Brazil (23)  Chinese Taipei (2)  Nicaragua (16)

Venues

The main tournament will be held in four stadiums.[2]

Pool A Pool B & Quarterfinals Pool C Pool D, Quarterfinals, Semis and Championship
Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico United States Houston, United States Japan Tokyo, Japan United States Miami, United States
Hiram Bithorn Stadium Daikin Park Tokyo Dome LoanDepot Park
Capacity: 19,125 Capacity: 41,168 Capacity: 45,600 Capacity: 36,742
2026 World Baseball Classic is located in Puerto Rico
San Juan
San Juan
2026 World Baseball Classic is located in the United States
Houston
Houston
Miami
Miami
2026 World Baseball Classic is located in Japan
Tokyo
Tokyo

Rosters

Main article: 2026 World Baseball Classic rosters

Pre-WBC friendly games

To prepare for the tournament, teams played friendly preparation games between November 2025 and March 2026.

2025

Friendly
Non-MLB Squads		 November 8 Czech Republic  0–3  South Korea Gocheok Sky Dome,
Seoul, South Korea
14:03 KST LP: Jan Novák
 Boxscore WP: Kim Keon-woo
Sv: Jo Byeong-hyeon
 Attendance: 16,100
Friendly
Non-MLB Squads		 November 9 South Korea  11–1  Czech Republic Gocheok Sky Dome,
Seoul, South Korea
14:00 KST WP: Lee Min-seok
HR: Lee Jae-won (1)		 Boxscore LP: Thomas Ondra
 Attendance: 16,100
Friendly
Non-MLB Squads		 November 15 South Korea  4–11  Japan Tokyo Dome, Japan
18:36 JT LP: Kim Taek-yeon
HR: Ahn Hyun-min (1), Song Sung-mun (1)		 Boxscore WP: Yuki Matsumoto
HR: Yukinori Kishida (1)		 Attendance: 41,631
Friendly
Non-MLB Squads		 November 16 Japan  7–7  South Korea Tokyo Dome, Japan
19:08 JT Boxscore HR: Ahn Hyun-min (2), Kim Ju-won (1) Attendance: 41,627

2026

Friendly
CPBL Squads (Including non-roster invitees)		 February 13 Chinese Taipei  3–2 TSG Hawks Chengcing Lake Baseball Stadium, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
13:00 TST Attendance: 12,000
Friendly
CPBL Squads (Including non-roster invitees)		 February 14 Chinese Taipei  6–2 TSG Hawks Chengcing Lake Baseball Stadium, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
13:00 TST Attendance: 12,000
Friendly February 19 Cuba  2–2  Nicaragua Estádio Roberto Clemente
Masaya, Nicaragua
16:00 CST Attendance: 4,000
Friendly
Played in 7 innings		 February 20 South Korea  3–4 Samsung Lions ONNA Akama Ball Park [ja],
Onna, Japan
13:00 JST
Friendly February 21 Australia  4–2 All-Ashikaga Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan
13:00 JST
Friendly
Played in 7 innings		 February 21 South Korea  5–2 Hanwha Eagles Kochinda Sports Park Baseball Field [ja]
Kochinda, Japan
12:00 JST
Friendly February 21 Chinese Taipei  2–2 Kiwoom Heroes Taipei Dome, Taipei, Taiwan
Friendly February 22 Chinese Taipei  2–7 Kiwoom Heroes Taipei Dome, Taipei, Taiwan
Friendly February 22 Cuba  3–1  Nicaragua Estadio Rigoberto López Pérez, León, Nicaragua
14:00 CST
Friendly February 22 Australia  5–0 All Fuchu Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan
12:00 JST
Friendly February 22 Czech Republic  4–3 Chiba Lotte Marines (farm) Miyakonojo City Municipal Baseball Stadium [ja], Miyakonojo, Japan
12:30 JST
Friendly February 22 Japan  13–3 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Sun Marine Stadium, Miyazaki, Japan
13:00 JST
Friendly February 23 Czech Republic  1–1 Chiba Lotte Marines (farm) Miyakonojo City Municipal Baseball Stadium [ja], Miyakonojo, Japan
12:30 JST
Friendly February 23 Japan  0–4 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Sun Marine Stadium, Miyazaki, Japan
14:00 JST
Friendly
Played in 7 innings		 February 23 South Korea  7–4 Hanwha Eagles Kadena Baseball Stadium [ja],
Kadena, Japan
13:00 JST
Friendly February 24 Australia  9–1 Tokyo Metropolitan Police Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan
11:30 JST
Friendly
Played in 7 innings		 February 24 KIA Tigers 3–6  South Korea Kadena Baseball Stadium [ja],
Kadena, Japan
13:00 JST
Friendly February 24 Chinese Taipei  5–3 Fubon Guardians Taipei Dome, Taipei, Taiwan
Friendly February 25 Cuba  1–6  Nicaragua Estadio Yamil Rios Ugarte, Rivas, Nicaragua
18:00 CST
Friendly February 25 Australia  (F/Cancelled due to rain) GOLD'S GYM JAPAN Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan
11:30 JST
Friendly February 26 Australia  6–6 3GoodGroup HOZEN noLimiteds Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan
11:30 JST
Friendly February 26 Samsung Lions 6–16  South Korea Kadena Baseball Stadium [ja],
Kadena, Japan
13:00 JST
Friendly February 26 Czech Republic  4–18 Chiba Lotte Marines Miyakonojo City Municipal Baseball Stadium [ja], Miyakonojo, Japan
12:30 JST
Friendly February 26 Chinese Taipei  0–4 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Taipei Dome, Taipei, Taiwan
19:00 TST
Friendly February 27 Japan  5–3 Chunichi Dragons Vantelin Dome Nagoya, Nagoya, Japan
19:00 JST
Friendly February 27 Chinese Taipei  1–6 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Taipei Dome, Taipei, Taiwan
15:00 TST
Friendly February 27 Netherlands  4–5  Italy Terry Park Ballfield, Fort Myers, Florida
13:00 EST Boxscore
Friendly February 27 Cuba  6–0  Nicaragua Estadio Nacional Soberanía, Managua, Nicaragua
18:00 CST
Friendly February 27 KT Wiz (F/Cancelled due to rain)  South Korea Kadena Baseball Stadium [ja],
Kadena, Japan
13:00 JST
Friendly February 28 Australia  0–2 Yokohama DeNA BayStars Yokohama Stadium, Yokohama, Japan
12:00 JST
Friendly February 28 Japan  7–3 Chunichi Dragons Vantelin Dome Nagoya, Nagoya, Japan
19:00 JST
Friendly March 2 Chinese Taipei  (F/Cancelled due to rain) Orix Buffaloes (farm) SOKKEN Stadium [ja], Miyazaki, Japan
11:00 JST
Friendly March 2 Australia  (F/Cancelled due to rain) Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (farm) Sun Marine Stadium, Miyazaki, Japan
11:00 JST
Friendly March 2 South Korea  3–3 Hanshin Tigers Kyocera Dome Osaka, Osaka, Japan
12:00 JST
Friendly March 2 Czech Republic  (F/Cancelled due to rain) Yomiuri Giants (farm) Sun Marine Stadium, Miyazaki, Japan
18:00 JST
Friendly March 2 Japan  3–4 Orix Buffaloes Kyocera Dome Osaka, Osaka, Japan
19:00 JST LP: Yusei Kikuchi
HR: Masataka Yoshida		 WP: Naruki Teranishi
Friendly March 3 Chinese Taipei  5–1 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (farm) SOKKEN Stadium [ja], Miyazaki, Japan
11:00 JST
Friendly March 3 Australia  5–1 Yomiuri Giants (farm) Sun Marine Stadium, Miyazaki, Japan
11:00 JST
Friendly March 3 South Korea  8–5 Orix Buffaloes Kyocera Dome Osaka, Osaka, Japan
12:00 JST
Friendly March 3 Czech Republic  3–8 Orix Buffaloes (farm) Sun Marine Stadium, Miyazaki, Japan
18:00 JST
Friendly March 3 Japan  5–4 Hanshin Tigers Kyocera Dome Osaka, Osaka, Japan
19:00 JST
Friendly March 3 Brazil  4–14 (F/7) Athletics Hohokam Stadium, Mesa, Arizona
13:05 MST LP: Bo Takahashi
 Boxscore WP: Aaron Civale
HR: Jeff McNeil, Austin Wynns		 Attendance: 2,273
Umpires: Alex Tosi
Friendly March 3 Venezuela  1–3 Houston Astros Cacti Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach, Florida
18:05 EST LP: Amilcar Chirinos
 Boxscore WP: Sam Carlson
HR: Carlos Eduardo Pérez		 Attendance: 4,000
Umpires: Edwin Moscoso
Friendly
Played over 10 innings		 March 3 United States  15–1 San Francisco Giants Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale, Arizona
13:05 MST WP: Paul Skenes (1–0)
HR: Alex Bregman (1), Roman Anthony (1)		 Boxscore LP: Adrian Houser (0–1)
 Attendance: 9,720
Umpires: HP – Alfonso Márquez, 1B – Adrian Johnson, 2B – Scott Barry, 3B – Brian Walsh
Friendly March 3 Italy  9–4 Chicago Cubs Sloan Park, Mesa, Arizona
13:05 MST WP: Ron Marinaccio
HR: Owen Ayers, Thomas Saggese, Kyle Teel		 Boxscore LP: Jeff Brigham
HR: James Dansby Swanson		 Attendance: 8,068
Umpires: Nick Mahrley
Friendly March 3 Great Britain  7–3 Milwaukee Brewers American Family Fields of Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona
13:10 MST WP: Jack Seppings
HR: Harry Ford		 Boxscore LP: Jared Koenig
HR: Akil Baddoo, David Hamilton		 Attendance: 2,688
Umpires: Charlie Welling
Friendly March 3 Cuba  0–4 Kansas City Royals Surprise Stadium, Surprise, Arizona
13:05 MST LP: Denny Larrondo
 Boxscore WP: Ryan Bergert
HR: Michael Massey		 Attendance: 3,756
Umpires: Nestor Ceja
Friendly March 3 Israel  1–0 Miami Marlins Roger Dean Stadium, Jupiter, Florida
13:10 EST WP: Robert Stock
Sv: Daniel Federman
 Boxscore LP: Calvin Faucher
 Attendance: 2,515
Umpires: Dan Merzel
Friendly March 3 Nicaragua  3–6 New York Mets Clover Park, Port St. Lucie, Florida
13:10 EST LP: Angel Obando
HR: Freddy Francisco Zamora, Brandon Leyton		 Boxscore WP: Luis Amado García
Sv: Jefry Yan
HR: Christopher Antonio Suero		 Attendance: 3,509
Umpires: Hunter Wendelstedt
Friendly March 3 Colombia  1–7 Pittsburgh Pirates LECOM Park, Bradenton, Florida
13:05 EST LP: Danis Correa
 Boxscore WP: José Urquidy
 Attendance: 3,819
Umpires: Will Little
Friendly March 3 Netherlands  8–5 Baltimore Orioles Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota, Florida
13:05 EST WP: Ryjeteri Merite
Sv: Jacob Cravey
HR: Ray-Patrick Didder, Ceddanne Rafaela, Ozzie Albies		 Boxscore LP: Trevor Rogers
HR: Pete Alonso, Jeremiah Jackson		 Attendance: 3,380
Umpires: Chris Segal
Friendly March 3 Puerto Rico  5–3 Boston Red Sox JetBlue Park, Lee County, Florida
18:05 EST WP: E. Rodríguez
Sv: Yacksel Ríos
 Boxscore LP: Jake Bennett
 Attendance: 8,620
Umpires: John Libka
Friendly March 3 Panama  1–11 (F/8) New York Yankees George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, Florida
13:05 EST LP: Jorge García
 Boxscore WP: Max Fried
HR: J. C. Escarra		 Attendance: 7,505
Umpires: Roberto Ortiz
Friendly March 3 Canada  7–10 Toronto Blue Jays TD Ballpark, Dunedin, Florida
13:07 EST LP: Brock Dykxhoorn
HR: Jacob Robson		 Boxscore WP: Jack Cushing
HR: Riley Tirotta		 Attendance: 4,496
Umpires: Brennan Miller
Friendly March 3 Mexico  6–3 Arizona Diamondbacks Salt River Fields, Scottsdale, Arizona
13:10 MST WP: Luis Gastelum
Sv: Roel Octavio Ramírez
HR: Ryan John Tellez, Tadeo Alejandro Osuna		 Boxscore LP: Juan Diego Morillo
 Attendance: 10,472
Umpires: Rob Drake
Friendly March 3 Dominican Republic  12–4 Detroit Tigers Estadio Quisqueya, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
19:05 AST WP: Abner Uribe
HR: Junior Caminero, Manny Machado, Juan Soto		 Boxscore LP: Brant Hurter
HR: Kevin McGonigle		 Attendance: 13,186
Umpires: John Libka
Friendly March 4 Brazil  2–13 (F/7) Texas Rangers Surprise Stadium, Surprise, Arizona
13:05 MST LP: Vitor Takahashi
HR: Lucas Ramirez, Lucas Rojo		 Boxscore WP: Kumar Rocker
HR: Jake Burger, Cameron Cauley, Josh H. Smith (baseball) 2		 Attendance: 2,823
Umpires: Charlie Ramos
Friendly March 4 Venezuela  1–5 Washington Nationals Cacti Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach, Florida
18:05 EST LP: Eduardo Rodriguez
 Boxscore WP: Foster Griffin
HR: Keibert Ruiz		 Attendance: 2,658
Umpires: Carlos Torres
Friendly March 4 United States  14–4 (F/8) Colorado Rockies Salt River Fields, Scottsdale, Arizona
13:10 MST WP: Carson Skipper
HR: Alex Bregman, Byron Buxton, Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge, Will Smith		 Boxscore LP: Gabriel Hughes
HR: Kyle Karros, Mickey Moniak		 Attendance: 11,803
Umpires: Dan Bellino
Friendly March 4 Mexico  5–7 Los Angeles Dodgers Camelback Ranch, Glendale, Arizona
13:05 MST LP: Luis Miranda
 Boxscore WP: Jack Dreyer
Sv: Ben Casparius
HR: Andy Pages		 Attendance: 11,855
Umpires: Stu Scheurwater
Friendly March 4 Great Britain  2–2 San Diego Padres Peoria Stadium, Peoria, Arizona
13:10 EST HR: Jazz Chisholm Jr. Boxscore Attendance: 2,468
Umpires: Nate Tomlinson
Friendly March 4 Cuba  2–19 (F/8) Cincinnati Reds Goodyear Ballpark, Goodyear, Arizona
13:05 MST LP: Julio Robaina
 Boxscore WP: Rhett Lowder
HR: JJ Bleday, Noelvi Marte, Sal Stewart		 Attendance: 2,826
Umpires: Quinn Wolcott
Friendly March 4 Italy  3–4 Los Angeles Angels Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
13:10 MST LP: Camden Minacci
HR: Jon Berti		 Boxscore WP: Sam Bachman
HR: Jeimer Candelario, Jorge Soler		 Attendance: 4,606
Umpires: Bill Miller
Friendly March 4 Colombia  1–9 Atlanta Braves CoolToday Park, North Port, Florida
13:05 EST LP: Luis Patiño
 Boxscore WP: Elieser Hernández
HR: Sandy León, Eli White		 Attendance: 3,966
Umpires: Tyler Jones
Friendly March 4 Israel  2–5 New York Mets Clover Park, Port St. Lucie, Florida
13:10 EST LP: Jordan Geber
HR: Zach Levenson		 Boxscore WP: Nick Burdi
Sv: Saul Garcia
HR: Carson Benge		 Attendance: 3,907
Umpires: Ron Kulpa
Friendly March 4 Canada  5–3 Philadelphia Phillies BayCare Ballpark, Clearwater, Florida
13:05 EST WP: Rob Zastryzny
Sv: Matt Wilkinson
 Boxscore LP: Jonathan Bowlan
HR: Alec Bohm		 Attendance: 5,462
Umpires: Dan Iassogna
Friendly March 4 Nicaragua  2–1 St. Louis Cardinals Roger Dean Stadium, Jupiter, Florida
13:05 EST WP: Juan Carlos Ramírez
Sv: Christian Worley
HR: Emanuel Trujillo		 Boxscore LP: Matthew Liberatore
HR: Andy Yerzy		 Attendance: 3,424
Umpires: Emil Jimenez
Friendly March 4 Netherlands  11–8 Tampa Bay Rays Charlotte Sports Park, Port Charlotte, Florida
13:05 EST WP: Jamdrick Cornelia
Sv: Jacob Kmatz
HR: Ceddanne Rafaela		 Boxscore LP: Jake Woodford
 Attendance: 2,001
Umpires: Ben May
Friendly March 4 Panama  1–2 Detroit Tigers Joker Marchant Stadium, Lakeland, Florida
13:05 EST LP: Abdiel Mendoza
 Boxscore WP: Jack Flaherty
HR: Kerry Carpenter		 Attendance: 3,598
Umpires: Darius Ghani
Friendly March 4 Puerto Rico  3–6 Minnesota Twins Hammond Stadium, Lee County, Florida
13:05 EST LP: Raymond Burgos
 Boxscore WP: Zebby Matthews
 Attendance: 4,608
Umpires: Brian O'Nora
Friendly March 4 Dominican Republic  4–4 Detroit Tigers Estadio Quisqueya, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
15:05 AST HR: Juan Soto Boxscore Attendance: 11,500
Umpires: Clint Vondrak

Pool stage

Scheduled locations and dates are as follows:[10]

Pool A

Main article: 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool A
Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W L RF RA PCT GB Qualification
1  Puerto Rico (H) 1 1 0 5 0 1.000 — Advance to knockout stage
2  Cuba 1 1 0 3 1 1.000 —
3  Canada 0 0 0 0 0 — 0.5
4  Panama 1 0 1 1 3 .000 1
5  Colombia 1 0 1 0 5 .000 1
Updated to games played on March 6, 2026. Source: MLB
(H) Hosts
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 6, 2026 12:00 AST Cuba  3–1  Panama   Hiram Bithorn Stadium 2:38 10,015 Boxscore
Mar 6, 2026 19:00 AST Puerto Rico  5–0  Colombia   Hiram Bithorn Stadium 2:55 18,793 Boxscore
Mar 7, 2026 12:00 AST Colombia  –  Canada   Hiram Bithorn Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 7, 2026 19:00 AST Panama  –  Puerto Rico   Hiram Bithorn Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 8, 2026 12:00 AST Colombia  –  Cuba   Hiram Bithorn Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 8, 2026 19:00 AST Panama  –  Canada   Hiram Bithorn Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 9, 2026 12:00 AST Colombia  –  Panama   Hiram Bithorn Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 9, 2026 19:00 AST Cuba  –  Puerto Rico   Hiram Bithorn Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 10, 2026 19:00 AST Canada  –  Puerto Rico   Hiram Bithorn Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 11, 2026 15:00 AST Canada  –  Cuba   Hiram Bithorn Stadium     Boxscore

Pool B

Main article: 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool B
Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W L RF RA PCT GB Qualification
1  United States (H) 1 1 0 15 5 1.000 — Advance to knockout stage
2  Mexico 1 1 0 8 2 1.000 —
3  Italy 0 0 0 0 0 — 0.5
4  Great Britain 1 0 1 2 8 .000 1
5  Brazil 1 0 1 5 15 .000 1
Updated to games played on March 6, 2026. Source: MLB
(H) Hosts
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 6, 2026 12:00 CST Mexico  8–2  Great Britain   Daikin Park 3:12 29,724 Boxscore
Mar 6, 2026 19:00 CST United States  15–5  Brazil   Daikin Park 3:30 30,825 Boxscore
Mar 7, 2026 12:00 CST Brazil  –  Italy   Daikin Park     Boxscore
Mar 7, 2026 19:00 CST Great Britain  –  United States   Daikin Park     Boxscore
Mar 8, 2026 12:00 CDT Great Britain  –  Italy   Daikin Park     Boxscore
Mar 8, 2026 19:00 CDT Brazil  –  Mexico   Daikin Park     Boxscore
Mar 9, 2026 12:00 CDT Brazil  –  Great Britain   Daikin Park     Boxscore
Mar 9, 2026 19:00 CDT Mexico  –  United States   Daikin Park     Boxscore
Mar 10, 2026 20:00 CDT Italy  –  United States   Daikin Park     Boxscore
Mar 11, 2026 18:00 CDT Italy  –  Mexico   Daikin Park     Boxscore

Pool C

Main article: 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool C
Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W L RF RA PCT GB Qualification
1  Australia 2 2 0 8 1 1.000 — Advance to knockout stage
2  Japan (H) 1 1 0 13 0 1.000 0.5
3  South Korea 1 1 0 11 4 1.000 0.5
4  Chinese Taipei 3 1 2 14 16 .333 1.5
5  Czechia 3 0 3 5 30 .000 2.5
Updated to games played on March 6, 2026. Source: MLB
(H) Hosts
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 5, 2026 12:00 JST Chinese Taipei  0–3  Australia   Tokyo Dome 2:15 40,523 Boxscore
Mar 5, 2026 19:00 JST Czechia  4–11  South Korea   Tokyo Dome 2:39 19,920 Boxscore
Mar 6, 2026 12:00 JST Australia  5–1  Czechia   Tokyo Dome 2:17 21,514 Boxscore
Mar 6, 2026 19:00 JST Japan  13–0  Chinese Taipei 7 Tokyo Dome 2:36 42,314 Boxscore
Mar 7, 2026 12:00 JST Chinese Taipei  14–0  Czechia 7 Tokyo Dome 2:20 40,522 Boxscore
Mar 7, 2026 19:00 JST South Korea  –  Japan   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 8, 2026 12:00 JST Chinese Taipei  –  South Korea   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 8, 2026 19:00 JST Australia  –  Japan   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 9, 2026 19:00 JST South Korea  –  Australia   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 10, 2026 19:00 JST Czechia  –  Japan   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore

Pool D

Main article: 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool D
Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W L RF RA PCT GB Qualification
1  Dominican Republic 1 1 0 12 3 1.000 — Advance to knockout stage
2  Venezuela 1 1 0 6 2 1.000 —
3  Israel 0 0 0 0 0 — 0.5
4  Netherlands 1 0 1 2 6 .000 1
5  Nicaragua 1 0 1 3 12 .000 1
First games will be played: March 6, 2026. Source: MLB
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 6, 2026 12:00 EST Netherlands  2–6  Venezuela   LoanDepot Park 2:54 19,542 Boxscore
Mar 6, 2026 19:00 EST Nicaragua  3–12  Dominican Republic   LoanDepot Park 3:20 35,127 Boxscore
Mar 7, 2026 12:00 EST Nicaragua  –  Netherlands   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 7, 2026 19:00 EST Israel  –  Venezuela   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 8, 2026 12:00 EDT Netherlands  –  Dominican Republic   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 8, 2026 19:00 EDT Nicaragua  –  Israel   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 9, 2026 12:00 EDT Dominican Republic  –  Israel   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 9, 2026 19:00 EDT Venezuela  –  Nicaragua   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 10, 2026 19:00 EDT Israel  –  Netherlands   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 11, 2026 20:00 EDT Dominican Republic  –  Venezuela   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore

Knockout stage

The top two teams from each pool will advance to the single elimination bracket. Houston will host two quarterfinal games, between the top 2 teams in pool A and top 2 teams in pool B, while the other two quarterfinals, between the top 2 teams in pool C and the top 2 teams in pool D, and the rest of the tournament, will take place in Miami. If the United States makes the knockout stage, their game will be played on March 13, regardless of whether they finished first or second in pool B. If Japan makes the knockout stage, their game will be played on March 14, regardless of whether they finished first or second in pool C. The quarterfinal winners will then be re-seeded for the semifinals.[10][13]

Bracket

 
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
 
                   
 
March 13 – Miami
 
 
Runner-up Pool C
 
March 15 – Miami
 
Winner Pool D
 
TBD
 
March 13 – Houston
 
TBD
 
Runner-up Pool A
 
March 17 – Miami
 
Winner Pool B
 
Lower seed
 
March 14 – Houston
 
Higher seed
 
Runner-up Pool B
 
March 16 – Miami
 
Winner Pool A
 
TBD
 
March 14 – Miami
 
TBD
 
Runner-up Pool D
 
 
Winner Pool C
 

Quarterfinals

Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 13, 2026 18:30 EDT Runner-up Pool C – Winner Pool D   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 13, 2026 19:00 CDT Runner-up Pool A – Winner Pool B   Daikin Park     Boxscore
Mar 14, 2026 14:00 CDT Runner-up Pool B – Winner Pool A   Daikin Park     Boxscore
Mar 14, 2026 21:00 EDT Runner-up Pool D – Winner Pool C   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore

Semifinals

Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 15, 2026 20:00 EDT TBD – TBD   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 16, 2026 20:00 EDT TBD – TBD   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore

Final

Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 17, 2026 20:00 EDT Lower seed – Higher seed   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore

Broadcasting

Sport24 secures the rights for international in-flight and cruise ship travel.[14]

Territory Rights holder(s) Ref.
Australia, New Zealand and Oceania ESPN [14]
Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland Sportdigital [15]
Brazil ESPN and Disney+ [14]
Canada Sportsnet (English) [16][14]
TVA Sports (French) [14]
Caribbean ESPN and Disney+ [14]
China BesTV [zh], Douyin, MIGU, Tencent Video, Fujian TV and Youku [14]
Cuba Tele Rebelde [14]
Czechia Česká Televize [17]
Dominican Republic VTV 32, Tele Antillas and Coral 39 [18]
France beIN Sports [14]
Hungary Sport1 [14]
Ireland and United Kingdom TNT Sports [14]
Israel Sports 5 [14]
Italy and San Marino Sky Sport Italy [14]
Japan Netflix [19]
Nippon Hoso[b], Bunka Hōsō[c] and Radiko (Audio Only) [20]
South Korea TVING, tvN/tvN Sports, KBS, SBS and MBC [21]
Latin America ESPN and Disney+ [14]
1 Baseball Network[d]
Macau and Southeast Asia SPOTV [14]
MENA beIN Sports [14]
Mexico TelevisaUnivision and ESPN[e] [22][23]
Netherlands ESPN
Nicaragua Viva Nicaragua [24]
Panamá RPC and TV Max [14]
Puerto Rico WAPA Deportes [25]
Sub-Saharan Africa ESPN and Disney+ [14]
Taiwan ELTA[f], EBC, TTV[g] and Videoland [26][27][28][29][30]
Turkey S Sport [14]
United States Fox Sports (English) [31]
Fox Deportes (Spanish)
Venezuela Televen and Venevisión [14]

Controversies and storylines

Netflix exclusive deal in Japan

Netflix reached an agreement with the World Baseball Classic Inc. for the exclusive broadcasting rights in the Japanese market for all 2026 tournament games. The agreement coincided with a separate agreement with Major League Baseball, who operates the tournament, for the global rights to air special events such as Opening Night, MLB at Field of Dreams and the Home Run Derby.[19]

This marks the first time Samurai Japan WBC games will not be available on terrestrial television in Japan. Although, most non-Japan games for the 2006–2023 tournaments were not available on terrestrial television, instead airing on the J-Sports paid CS premium channels. The agreement ended up being divisive among Japanese fans as it requires viewers to pay for a streaming service to watch the Japanese national team games.[32][33][34]

Proponents of the deal argued that the reaction by opponents was a form of galapagos syndrome because Netflix is a very known name globally, the market has changed to the point young people overall tend to use streaming far more over television, and, for the first time ever, all non-Japan games would be on a cheaper platform.[35]

Others also saw the deal as "positive news", due to what they called "Ohtani-fatigue" or "Ohtani harassment", caused by excessive coverage of Shohei Ohtani across Japanese terrestrial TV networks. Because of the deal, most of the terrestrial TV channels would have to change focus in their timeslots for other programs other than live WBC coverage.[36][37][38] A alternative to show live games was to do small specials, for exemple, Nippon TV, did 9 specials during the tournament thanks to a Netflix partnership where NTV helped to produce the game feed to Netflix.[39]

Samurai Japan games will also have free audio telecasts on the radio as Nippon Broadcasting System broadcast all of the Japanese national team games, while Nippon Cultural Broadcasting will broadcast one quarterfinal, one semi and the Finals, whether Japan was played either way. Radiko streaming service will cover entire radio broadcasts from both of the radio networks.[40]

Netflix has also confirmed it will allow public viewing of games and was working with Aeon and local authorities for such events, Netflix also announced a special promotion cutting the subscription price to 500 yen for the month of March.[41][42][43][44]

Baseball's "Dream Team" and Tarik Skubal Decision

The success of the 2017 and 2023 tournaments resulted in more MLB players interested in playing for their national teams. For the 2026 tournament, the United States had significantly better players, especially pitchers, than previous years. Some have compared the 2026 United States team to the Avengers super-heroes or the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team, known as the "Dream Team".[45][46][47][48]

In February, it was announced that Tarik Skubal had decided to pitch only a single game before returning to Spring training with the Detroit Tigers. A few hours later, that game was announced as a group pool stage game against Great Britain. The decision was met with controversy, with fans calling Skubal a "quitter", and wondering if wasn't a better option pick another pitcher in his place.[49][50][51]

Skubal blamed the calendar, saying, "If this tournament were in the middle of season, like if it was (Olympic) hockey, I´d had no problem playing those games"[52][53]

Insurance rule debate and Puerto Rico roster issues

Could we participate with 10 horrible (players) for fear that there will be some kind of retaliation? Or does the dignity of Puerto Rico have some kind of value or price?

Jose Quiles, President of Puerto Rican Baseball Federation[54]

If players are on Major League Baseball 40-man rosters, they must have an insurance policy that compensates teams (in case a player is injured during the tournament)[h] or else have a written waiver allowing the player to play. The reasons to refuse a player are various, but often related to age, extensive injury history or recent injuries.[55][56] Most of WBC and MLB-related insurances are done by National Financial Partners, an Aon company.[55][57]

This rule has long been a point of contention for fans, teams, and organizers, because it often affects heavily the performance of teams and makes teams heavily dependent on knowing an eligibility of a player beforehand. For example, in 2023, Clayton Kershaw was not allowed to play for Team USA due to an insurance refusal, but was allowed to play in 2026 because he is now technically classified as a free agent due to his retirement following the 2025 MLB season.[55][58][59]

The rule reached another boiling point in 2026 due to widespread insurance refusal among players, such as Jose Altuve and Miguel Rojas of Venezuela.[60]

The most notable case in 2026 was with Team Puerto Rico, which suffered from the refusal of several potential players, the most notable being Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa. The impact to the team prompted fans to boycott the tournament and the federation, alongside with local government, considered withdrawing from the tournament completely due the insurance issues with the players.[55][61][62] The situation quickly reached escalated to WBC and MLB leaderships, resulting in an emergency meeting with Puerto Rico on the afternoon of January 31. After the meeting, it was reported that WBCI, MLB, MLBPA were negotiating with insurers to change some decisions.[63][64] On February 1, another meeting was held between MLB and Puerto Rican federation. Reports indicated that the Puerto Rican federation and local businesspeople were working to secure backup insurance in case the original insurance re-refused the players, but the three players asked by Puerto Rico were unable to be selected due the insurance rules.[65][54]

The president of WBSC Americas and Venezuelan Baseball Federation, Aracelis León, also voiced her displeasure at the insurance issues on February 1, asking WBCI and MLBPA to fix the situation.[66] Lindor would be ruled out for the Classic on February 11 due to having surgery on his hand for a hamate bone injury.[67]

Americas qualification for 2028 Summer Olympics

Main article: Baseball at the 2028 Summer Olympics

On February 9, 2026, the WBSC announced the top two teams from the Americas, alongside the automatically qualified hosts United States, would qualify for the 2028 Olympic baseball tournament.[3]

Team Qualified on Previous appearances in Summer Olympics[i]
TBD March 2026
TBD March 2026

Visa denials for Cuban staff

The Baseball Federation of Cuba announced on February 25, 2026, that American officials had denied visas to eight members of its traveling party, including the organization's president and general secretary. The visa denials were tied to the tightening of immigration policies, which currently require specialized licensing for Cuban team officials to enter the U.S. All Cuban players and coaches were cleared to enter the country due to visa exemptions for athletes and coaches participating in big sporting tournaments, Olympic qualifiers, and events supported by Major League Baseball.[68][69]

Debate about the lack of ABS (Automated Ball-Strike System)

As the case in recent WBCs, the 2026 tournament uses the regular season MLB rules of the year prior season, this meant that the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) challenge rules would not be in play for the 2026 WBC. This caused controversy among some unaware fans due the lack of challenge umpire calls. [70][71]

On the opening game of tournament between Chinese Taipei and Australia, umpire Omar Peralta was heavily criticized by Taiwanese fans and media for missing key calls, to the point to dub his strike-zone an "amoeba". Chinese Taipei ended up losing 3–0 against Australia, which caused the controversy to become even worse and raised the calls for a early adoption of the ABS System.[72][73][74][75]

The unawareness also affected a player in exhibition games, on March 4, 2026, Ronald Acuña Jr. mistakenly tried to use the ABS challenge system, in Venezuela's pre-tournament exhibition game against the Houston Astros.[76]

Notes

  1. ^ Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States.
  2. ^ all Samurai Japan games
  3. ^ one quarterfinal, one semi and the Final
  4. ^ except Mexico
  5. ^ All México Games, one semifinal and the Championship on Canal 5, Nueve or ViX
  6. ^ Official broadcasters; for CHT MOD and OTT (ELTA.tv and Hami Video)
  7. ^ Terrestrial and cable TV broadcast only
  8. ^ 2 years for position players, 4 years for pitchers
  9. ^ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

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