Daisuke Matsuzaka carving up batters en route to back-to-back MVP Awards; Nelson Cruz¡¯s triumphant blast; Adam Jones¡¯ leaping home run robbery; Javier B¨¢ez¡¯s no-look tag; and Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout with the championship on the line -- these are just some of the World Baseball Classic¡¯s indelible moments that live on in our memories.
Start getting ready for the next must-see plays, because the finalized pools and schedule for the 2026 World Baseball Classic were announced on Wednesday, including the four teams that advanced from the Qualifiers: Colombia (Pool A), Brazil (Pool B), Chinese Taipei (Pool C) and Nicaragua (Pool D).
This will be the second World Baseball Classic with a 20-team field, so just like in 2023, there will be four pools of five teams. The top two teams in each pool will advance to the quarterfinals in Houston and Miami on March 13 and 14. If Team USA advances to the quarterfinals, its game would take place on Friday, March 13, regardless of whether it is the winner or runner-up in pool play. The same is true for Samurai Japan, whose game will be on March 14 regardless of whether it wins its pool or finishes second.
The semifinals and finals will be held in Miami beginning on March 15.
Let¡¯s break down the pools:
Pool A: San Juan, Puerto Rico -- Hiram Bithorn Stadium
Dates: March 6-11, 2026
Puerto Rico
2023 finish: Knocked out in quarterfinals by Mexico
WBSC ranking: 9
Following back-to-back second-place finishes, Puerto Rico was hoping to finally lift the championship trophy in 2023. Unfortunately, a freak injury early in the tournament to closer Edwin D¨ªaz seemingly set the tone for P.R., which lost to Mexico, 5-4, in the quarterfinals. Javier B¨¢ez, who was named to the 2023 All World Baseball Classic Team, was 7-for-19 with one home run and six RBIs.
Puerto Rico also threw the first WBC perfect game in tournament history -- a combined effort against Israel.
Cuba
2023 finish: Tied 3rd with Mexico, lost in semifinals to USA
WBSC ranking: 10
After advancing from a five-way Pool A tie as the winners thanks to the best run differential, Cuba narrowly defeated Australia, 4-3, in the 2023 quarterfinals. Cuba¡¯s run ended in Miami, though, as it lost a tough 14-2 game to the United States. Pitcher Miguel Romero was named to the All-World Baseball Classic Team after striking out 13 batters and posting a 2.08 ERA in 8 2/3 innings pitched.
Canada
2023 finish: 3rd in Pool C
WBSC ranking: 22
Second baseman Edouard Julien was unstoppable in pool play for Canada in 2023: The Twins slugger went 7-for-13 with two home runs and five walks -- good for a 1.154 OPS -- as Canada went 2-2 and finished third in Pool B. Team manager Ernie Whitt is hopeful for the future though, saying ¡°I¡¯m very excited about it. We have good young players that are coming,¡± following Canada¡¯s exit from the 2023 tournament.
Panama
2023 finish: 4th in Pool A
WBSC ranking: 8
After qualifying for its first tournament since 2009, Panama impressed with a 2-2 finish in Pool A in 2023. An impressive victory over Chinese Taipei (12-5) and a 2-0 shutout of Italy, with Harold Arauz pitching four shutout frames to lead the way, guaranteed Panama a spot in the 2026 tournament. It¡¯ll look to advance beyond the group stage for the first time in World Baseball Classic history.
Colombia
2023 finish: 1-3, last place in Pool C
WBSC Ranking: 13
After defeating Mexico, 5-4, to start the 2023 Classic, Colombia dropped its next three games to finish in last place and be relegated to the Qualifiers. The team left nothing to chance at the Tucson Qualifiers in March, though, sweeping the competition and giving up just one run along the way.
¡°I know what happened two years ago,¡± third baseman Gio Urshela said. ¡°We feel really bad about it. Now this year, hopefully we'll be better.¡±
Colombia has plenty of talent, but it will face an uphill campaign in San Juan: Not only will Puerto Rico, Cuba and Panama offer plenty of competition, but Colombia will have a rematch with Canada, which beat them, 5-0, in 2023.
Game to Watch: Cuba vs. Puerto Rico, March 9
A matchup of two baseball powerhouses, with both looking to go far in the tournament. This will be the first time the two teams will face off since the 2006 World Baseball Classic. They split their matchups in that one, with Puerto Rico winning the first contest, 12-2, and Cuba taking the second, 4-3.
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Pool B: Houston -- Daikin Park
Dates: March 6-11, 2026
USA
2023 finish: 2nd, lost to Japan in finals
WBSC ranking: 5
One run and Shohei Ohtani on the mound was all that separated the United States from back-to-back World Baseball Classic titles in 2023. The U.S. needed some late-inning heroics -- Trea Turner¡¯s grand slam -- to defeat Venezuela, 9-7, in the quarterfinals. Turner tied a WBC tournament record with five home runs.
Mexico
2023 finish: Tied 3rd with Cuba, lost to Japan in semifinals
WBSC ranking: 4
Mexico was leading Japan, 5-4, going into the bottom of the ninth before the eventual champions broke through with a game-winning double from star third baseman Munetaka Murakami. Led by Randy Arozarena, Mexico raced to its best performance in 2023. The finish has been a boon to baseball in the country, leading to higher attendances and more youth participation and making the future look very bright.
Italy
2023 finish: Tied for 5th, lost to Japan in quarterfinals
WBSC ranking: 14
Inspired by manager Mike Piazza¡¯s ¡°Mission Classic¡± designed to bridge the gap between the team¡¯s Italian-American players and those developed in the country, Italy held its own against Japan in the quarterfinal before eventually losing, 9-3. Piazza has talked about wanting to further develop baseball within Italy, hoping to feature more Italian-born players in future tournaments.
Great Britain
2023 finish: Fourth place in Pool C
WBSC ranking: 18
After reaching its first World Baseball Classic tournament in history, Great Britain and its star catcher Harry Ford (two homers in group play) did what they needed to do: With a 7-5 victory over Colombia, Team GB cemented its place in the 2026 tournament.
¡°When you¡¯re managing a national team, you¡¯re not playing for one game or one season -- you¡¯re playing for generations,¡± manager Drew Spencer said at the time. ¡°So what this means is that when we got to Regensburg and we qualified on our third attempt, it felt like the end of Chapter 1. This is the beginning of Chapter 2 for Great Britain baseball and British baseball in general.¡±
Brazil
2023 finish: Did not advance from Qualifiers
WBSC Ranking: 23
After falling to Nicaragua in the 2022 Qualifier final, Brazil took care of business with a 6-4 win against Germany at the Tucson Qualifiers to return to the main tournament for the first time since 2013. Brazil¡¯s veterans led the way, as Lucas Rojo returned from retirement and national team star Leonardo Reginatto continued to shine with a .510/.576/.667 batting line. Reginatto has played in every World Baseball Classic and Qualifier game in Brazil¡¯s history and holds the record with 26 hits across Qualifier tournaments.
"It's very important to us to qualify," Reginatto said. "I think this is something that can change baseball down there. We had a lot of people watching and cheering for us. This is my fourth or fifth Qualifier -- definitely my last one. I can't play this game too long anymore, but I'm very glad to finish my career like this. I mean, this is a dream come true -- not only for me, for a lot of guys -- and we're very happy to qualify."
Game to Watch: Mexico vs. USA, March 9
We¡¯ve seen this matchup plenty of times in international soccer and the atmosphere is always incredible. Now, we¡¯ll get to see the rivals face off in group play. Mexico defeated the U.S., 5-2, the last time they played in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
Pool C: Tokyo, Japan -- Tokyo Dome
Dates: March 5-10, 2026
Japan
2023 finish: 1st
WBSC ranking: 1
It¡¯s international baseball¡¯s best team: Japan is the only team to win multiple World Baseball Classic titles and now it's taken three. It's women¡¯s team recently won its seventh consecutive Women¡¯s Baseball World Cup, too, making Samurai Japan the team to beat in 2026.
Shohei Ohtani earned All-World Baseball Classic Team honors at both DH and pitcher, while outfielder Masataka Yoshida also earned All-World Baseball Classic honors.
Australia
2023 finish: Lost to Cuba in quarterfinals
WBSC ranking: 12
Suffice to say, Australia probably doesn¡¯t want to play Cuba anymore. Australia lost, 4-3, to the island nation in group play in 2017 and lost by the same score in ¡®23. Manager Dave Nilsson played to his team¡¯s strength in ¡®23, often letting his pitchers go through the order only one time to keep opposing batters off guard.
Team captain and firefighter Tim Kennelly helped lead the way with a home run and some sparkling defensive plays in the outfield, before setting the all-time ABL home run record this past winter.
Korea
2023 finish: 3rd place in Pool B
WBSC ranking: 6
It was a disappointing finish in 2023 for Korea, which has failed to advance beyond pool play since its second-place finish in 2009. Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim hit three home runs and Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee was 6-for-14 with five RBIs, but a leaky bullpen doomed Korea in losses to Japan and Australia. It'll look to get back on the medal stage in ¡®26.
Czechia
2023 finish: 4th palace in Pool B
WBSC ranking: 15
The beloved underdogs in the 2023 tournament, Czechia upset a heavily favored Spain team in the Regensburg Qualifiers and needed a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning from Martin Mu?ik to defeat China. That victory earned the team -- made up almost entirely of homegrown players that must balance day jobs alongside their baseballing duties -- a spot in the 2026 tournament. Could this small Central European nation make more history this time around?
Chinese Taipei
2023 finish: 2-2, last-place tie in Pool A
WBSC Ranking: 2
After upsetting Japan to win the Premier12 and collect a gold medal for the first time in team history, Chinese Taipei averted disaster at the Qualifier it hosted inside the Taipei Dome when it defeated Spain to finish second in the pool.
The No. 2-ranked team, according to the WBSC, should have plenty of talent come next year, especially as the team won¡¯t need to worry about calling on players for multiple tournaments. (For instance, D-backs prospect Yu-Min Lin was not available for the Qualifier after being the winning pitcher in the Premier12¡¯s gold-medal game.) Just as in 2023, Chinese Taipei will face a stacked pool to advance to the second round: It¡¯ll need to take down Japan again; Korea, which is hoping to bounce back from a rough ¡¯23; and the up-and-coming teams from Australia and the Czech Republic.
Manager Hao-Jiu Tseng knows it won¡¯t be easy.
¡°To get closer to Team Japan, that's what we really wanted to do, but we actually got a win against them," Tseng said after the Premier12. "That's so big. I think we got a little closer. But you know, this one win is not everything. I know they're a better team, so we need to make more effort, get even closer to the team in Japan, so that we can battle against them like that many more times to come."
Game to Watch: Czechia vs. Japan, March 10
Japan may have defeated Czechia, 10-2, in 2023, but most people remember the game for other reasons: Like, say, when electrical engineer Ondrej Satoria struck out Shohei Ohtani with his ¡°Worker¡± (the name he gave his changeup), or when Willie Escala was drilled with a Roki Sasaki fastball and walked away with bags of Japanese candy. The performance inspired Ohtani to wear a Czech Republic cap, leading to the lid selling out in hours. There is now a sporting partnership between the two nations, which will surely only grow in ¡®26.
Pool D: Miami -- loanDepot park
Dates: March 6-11
Venezuela
2023 finish: Lost to the U.S. in the quarterfinals
WBSC ranking: 3
Venezuela blitzed its way through pool play in 2023, going 4-0 and giving up just nine runs despite facing the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Israel and Nicaragua. Venezuela nearly knocked off the United States, too, leading 7-5 in the eighth inning before Trea Turner¡¯s game-winning grand slam.
Catcher Salvador Perez earned a spot on the All-World Baseball Classic Team after going 6-for-14 with one home run, six RBIs and five runs scored. A rotation fronted by Astros pitcher Luis Garcia and Twins hurler Pablo L¨®pez helped make the team a threat against any offense.
Dominican Republic
2023 finish: 3rd place in Pool D
WBSC ranking: 11
The D.R. was a pre-tournament favorite in 2023 thanks to a stacked lineup led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Manny Machado and Juan Soto and a rotation fronted by Sandy Alcantara and Cristian Javier. But a 5-1 loss to Venezuela to start pool play and a 5-2 loss to Puerto Rico to end it meant that the Dominican Republic failed to advance from the group stage for the first time since ¡®09. Soto did all he could, blasting two home runs and drawing three walks to put up a 1.500 OPS in the tournament.
Netherlands
2023 finish: 3rd place in Pool A
WBSC ranking: 7
After a 2-0 start to pool play, the Kingdom of the Netherlands looked to be ready to repeat its performances from the previous two tournaments -- when the team finished fourth. But after losses to Italy and Chinese Taipei -- leading to a five-way tie in Pool A -- the Netherlands found itself on the outside looking in. Ageless wonder Shairon Martis -- who threw the first no-hitter in tournament history -- returned in this one and threw 3 1/3 shutout innings.
Israel
2023 finish: 4th place in Pool D
WBSC ranking: 19
After a Cinderella run in 2017, Israel couldn¡¯t repeat the performance in ¡®23. The team beat Nicaragua, 3-1, for its only victory of the tournament. Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer -- the first Israeli player drafted in MLB history -- held his own with four shutout innings in the tournament.
Nicaragua
2023 finish: 0-4, last in Pool D
WBSC Ranking: 16
Good luck to any hitter who must face Nicaragua¡¯s pitching staff. Led by starter Ronald Medrano, Nicaragua held the opposition to just two runs and a .165 average in the Taipei Qualifier, pulling off back-to-back extra-innings victories before topping Chinese Taipei, 6-0, to advance after finishing with a 3-0 record.
The team will be back for its second WBC appearance, hoping to pull off its first win in tournament history. While the pitching staff inspires fear, Nicaragua will need to find some more offense before the 2026 tournament: They scored just one run in each contest in the '23 tournament.
Game to watch: Venezuela vs. Dominican Republic, March 11
Two of baseball¡¯s heaviest hitters will face off for the final game of pool play. Perhaps they¡¯ll be playing just for seeding at this point or perhaps this will be a must-win game for a tournament favorite to ensure it¡¯ll be moving on to the second round.