World Baseball Classic 2026: Full Match Schedule and Pool Assignments

The World Baseball great is rapidly approaching, and fans everywhere are hopeful that this year’s edition will live up to the excitement of the 2023 event, which saw Japan emerge victorious in a great final. It’s unlikely that the chips will ever fall in a more fascinating manner than Shohei Ohtani striking out Mike Trout with everything on the line, but baseball never fails to produce drama.

This will be the fifth World Baseball Classic since its start in 2006, and the rosters are packed with Major League Baseball talent. Because the competition is only held every three years, it may be beneficial to review the format.

World Baseball Classic Format

The World Baseball Classic field features 20 teams divided into four pools. Round-robin play will take place in four cities: Tokyo, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Houston, and Miami. Each team will compete against everyone else in their pool, with the top two teams advancing to the quarterfinals. From then, it’s a single-elimination bracket.

World Baseball Classic Pools

• Pool A: Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Panama and Puerto Rico
• Pool B: Brazil, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico and United States
• Pool C: Australia, Chinese Taipei, Czechia, Japan and Korea
• Pool D: Dominican Republic, Israel, Netherlands, Nicaragua and Venezuela

World Baseball Classic Schedule

March 4

• Chinese Taipei vs. Australia, 10 p.m. ET, Tokyo

March 5

• Czechia vs. Korea, 5 a.m. ET, Tokyo
• Australia vs. Czechia, 10 p.m. ET, Tokyo

March 6

• Japan vs. Chinese Taipei, 5 a.m. ET, Tokyo
• Cuba vs. Panama, 11 a.m. ET, San Juan
• Netherlands vs. Venezuela, Noon ET, Miami
• Mexico vs. Great Britain, 1 p.m. ET, Houston
• Puerto Rico vs. Colombia, 6 p.m. ET, San Juan
• Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic, 7 p.m. ET, Miami
• United States vs. Brazil, 8 p.m. ET, Houston
• Chinese Taipei vs. Czechia, 10 p.m. ET, Tokyo

March 7

• Korea vs. Japan, 5 a.m. ET, Tokyo
• Colombia vs. Canada, 11 a.m. ET, San Juan
• Nicaragua vs. Netherlands, Noon ET, Miami
• Brazil vs. Italy, 1 p.m. ET, Houston
• Panama vs. Puerto Rico, 6 p.m. ET, San Juan
• Israel vs. Venezuela, 7 p.m. ET, Miami
• Great Britain vs. United States, 8 p.m. ET, Houston
• Chinese Taipei vs. Korea, 10 p.m. ET, Tokyo

March 8

• Australia vs. Japan, 6 a.m. ET, Tokyo
• Colombia vs. Cuba, Noon ET, San Juan
• Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic, Noon ET, Miami
• Great Britain vs. Italy, 1 p.m. ET, Houston
• Nicaragua vs. Israel, 7 p.m. ET, Miami
• Panama vs. Canada, 7 p.m. ET, San Juan
• Brazil vs. Mexico, 8 p.m. ET, Houston

March 9

• Korea vs. Australia, 6 a.m. ET, Tokyo
• Dominican Republic vs. Israel, Noon ET, Miami
• Colombia vs. Panama, Noon ET, San Juan
• Brazil vs. Germany, 1 p.m. ET, Houston
• Cuba vs. Puerto Rico, 7 p.m. ET, San Juan
• Venezuela vs. Nicaragua, 7 p.m. ET, Miami
• Mexico vs. United States, 8 p.m. ET, Houston

March 10

• Czechia vs. Japan, 6 a.m. ET, Tokyo
• Israel vs. Netherlands, Noon ET, Miami
• Canada vs. Puerto Rico, 7 p.m. ET, San Juan
• Italy vs. United States, 9 p.m. ET, Houston

March 11

• Canada vs. Cuba, 3 p.m. ET, San Juan
• Italy vs. Mexico, 7 pm. ET, Houston
• Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela, 8 p.m. ET, Miami

March 13

Quarterfinals

• TBD vs. TBD, 6:30 p.m. ET, Miami
• TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. ET, Houston

March 14

Quarterfinals

• TBD vs. TBD, 3 p.m. ET, Houston
• TBD vs. TBD, 9 p.m. ET, Miami