The sixth edition of the World Baseball Classic takes place in March, with 20 countries vying to claim bragging rights in the sport’s premier international tournament.
The 20 countries were broken into four pools in different locations, with each team playing the other four in the group. Pool A will be played in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Pool B in Houston; Pool C in Tokyo and Pool D in Miami.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be held in Miami and Houston. The semifinals (March 15-16) and championship game (March 17) will also be played in Miami at LoanDepot Park, home of the Marlins. The tournament’s first games will be played in Tokyo on Thursday, March 5, with Team USA beginning its campaign on Saturday, March 6 against Brazil in Houston. Defending champion Japan’s first game is Friday, March 6 against Chinese Taipei.
Here’s a look at the 2026 World Baseball Classic pools and schedule
2026 World Baseball Classic schedule and pools
Pool A (San Juan, PR)
- Puerto Rico
- Panama
- Cuba
- Canada
- Colombia
Pool A schedule
- March 6: Cuba vs. Panama
- March 6: Puerto Rico vs. Colombia
- March 7: Colombia vs. Canada
- March 7: Panama vs. Puerto Rico
- March 8: Colombia vs. Cuba
- March 9: Colombia vs. Panama
- March 9: Cuba vs. Puerto Rico
- March 10: Canada vs. Puerto Rico
- March 11: Canada vs. Cuba
Pool B (Houston)
- United States
- Mexico
- Italy
- Great Britain
- Brazil
Pool B schedule
- March 6: Mexico vs. Great Britain
- March 6: United States vs. Brazil
- March 7: Brazil vs. Italy
- March 7: Great Britain vs. United States
- March 8: Great Britain vs. Italy
- March 8: Brazil vs. Mexico
- March 9: Brazil vs. Great Britain
- March 9: Mexico vs. United States
- March 10: Italy vs. United States
- March 11: Italy vs. Mexico
Pool C (Tokyo)
- Japan
- South Korea
- Australia
- Czechia
- Chinese Taipei
Pool C schedule
- March 5: Chinese Taipei vs. Australia
- March 5: Czechia vs. South Korea
- March 6: Australia vs. Czechia
- March 6: Japan vs. Chinese Taipei
- March 7: Chinese Taipei vs. Czechia
- March 7: South Korea vs. Japan
- March 8: Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea
- March 8: Australia vs. Japan
- March 9: South Korea vs. Australia
- March 10: Czechia vs. Japan
Pool D (Miami)
- Venezuela
- Netherlands
- Dominican Republic
- Israel
- Nicaragua
Pool D schedule
- March 6: Netherlands vs. Venezuela
- March 6: Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic
- March 7: Nicaragua vs. Netherlands
- March 7: Israel vs. Venezuela
- March 8: Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic
- March 8: Nicaragua vs. Israel
- March 9: Dominican Republic vs. Israel
- March 9: Venezuela vs. Nicaragua
- March 10: Israel vs. Netherlands
- March 11: Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela