By Reinaldo Oliveros
Aug 21, 2024, 10:58 AM EDT
The 2026 World Baseball Classic is beginning to take shape. The groups formed for the tournament that will have four venues were announced this Wednesday: Houston (USA), Miami (USA), Tokyo (Japan) and San Juan (Puerto Rico).
The group stages will be played from 6 to 11 March 2026. The groups will be located as follows:
Group A will play in San Juan and the teams are: Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama and one team to qualify.
Group B will play in Houston and the teams are: United States, Mexico, Italy, Great Britain and one team to qualify.
Group C will play in Tokyo and the teams that will be there are: Japan, Australia, South Korea, Czech Republic, a team to qualify.
Group D will play in Miami and is made up of: Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Israel, Netherlands and one team to qualify.
This is how the knockout rounds of the World Classic will be
The quarterfinals in Houston and Miami will be played on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14. Minute Maid Park will host the teams advancing from Group A and Group B, while loanDepot Park will host the teams advancing from Group C and Group D.
If Team USA advances to the quarterfinal round in Houston, its match will be played on Friday, March 13, regardless of whether it is the winner or runner-up of Group B.
If Japan advances to the quarter-finals in Miami, their match will be held on Saturday, March 14, regardless of whether they are the winners or runners-up of Group C.
The championship round in Miami will begin on Sunday, March 15 with the first of two semi-final matches, while the second semi-final will be held on Monday, March 16. The championship match will be played on Tuesday, March 17.
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