The qualifying round of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, officially called the World Baseball Classic 2025 Qualifiers, was held from February 21 to March 6, 2025. The top four teams in each pool of the 2023 World Baseball Classic automatically qualified for the 2026 tournament. The qualifiers consisted of two tournaments with four teams each, and was held in Taipei, Taiwan, and Tucson, United States of America. Two teams of each tournament qualified for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Countries | Taiwan United States |
| Dates | February 21 – March 6, 2025 |
| Teams | 8 (from 4 confederations) |
Qualified teams
Note: World ranking indicates positions in the latest WBSC World Rankings (December 31, 2024) at the time of the announcement of the qualifiers.
| Team | World ranking | Method of qualification | Classic appearance | Previous best position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 12th | 2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four | 6th | Quarterfinals (2023) |
| Canada | 22nd | 6th | Pool stage | |
| Cuba | 10th | 6th | Runners-up (2006) | |
| Czech Republic | 15th | 2nd | Pool stage | |
| Dominican Republic | 11th | 6th | Champions (2013) | |
| Great Britain | 18th | 2nd | Pool stage | |
| Israel | 19th | 3rd | Quarterfinals (2017) | |
| Italy | 14th | 6th | Quarterfinals (2013, 2023) | |
| Japan | 1st | 6th | Champions (2006, 2009, 2023) | |
| Mexico | 4th | 6th | Third place (2023) | |
| Netherlands | 7th | 6th | Fourth place (2013, 2017) | |
| Panama | 8th | 4th | Pool stage | |
| Puerto Rico | 9th | 6th | Runners-up (2013, 2017) | |
| South Korea | 6th | 6th | Runners-up (2009) | |
| United States | 5th | 6th | Champions (2017) | |
| Venezuela | 3rd | 6th | Fourth place (2009) | |
| Nicaragua | 16th | Pool A winner | 2nd | Pool stage |
| Chinese Taipei | 2nd | Pool A second-place playoff winner | 6th | Quarterfinals (2013) |
| Colombia | 13th | Pool B winner | 3rd | Pool stage |
| Brazil | 23rd | Pool B second-place playoff winner | 2nd | Pool stage |
Players
Venues
| Qualifier 1 | Taipei | Tucson | Qualifier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taipei, Taiwan | Tucson, U.S. | ||
| Taipei Dome | Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium | ||
| Capacity: 40,000 | Capacity: 11,000 | ||
Pools composition
Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the latest WBSC World Rankings (December 31, 2024) at the time of the announcement of the qualifiers.
| Pool A | Pool B |
|---|---|
| Chinese Taipei (2) (hosts) | Colombia (13) |
| Nicaragua (16) | Germany (17) |
| Spain (24) | China (20) |
| South Africa (31) | Brazil (23) |
The format consisted of two rounds. The first round was a round-robin, with the teams playing each other once. After the six games from each group, the first-placed team qualified for the final tournament, while the second and third-placed teams play in a seventh game where the winner also qualified.
Pool A
Pool A took place at the Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan, from February 21–25, 2025.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicaragua | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 1.000 | — | Final tournament |
| 2 | Chinese Taipei (H) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 22 | .500 | 1.5 | |
| 3 | Spain | 4 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 14 | .500 | 1.5 | |
| 4 | South Africa | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 20 | .000 | 3 |
(H) Hosts
Notes:
- Chinese Taipei defeated Spain in the second-place playoff, 6–3.
Opening round
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 21, 2025 | 12:00 | South Africa | 1–2 | Nicaragua | 10 | Taipei Dome | 2:30 | 14,925 | Boxscore |
| February 21, 2025 | 19:00 | Spain | 12–5 | Chinese Taipei | Taipei Dome | 3:13 | 35,325 | Boxscore | |
| February 22, 2025 | 12:00 | Spain | 1–2 | Nicaragua | 10 | Taipei Dome | 2:58 | 15,015 | Boxscore |
| February 22, 2025 | 19:00 | Chinese Taipei | 9–1 | South Africa | Taipei Dome | 3:05 | 35,868 | Boxscore | |
| February 23, 2025 | 12:00 | South Africa | 1–9 | Spain | Taipei Dome | 2:20 | 15,385 | Boxscore | |
| February 23, 2025 | 19:00 | Nicaragua | 6–0 | Chinese Taipei | Taipei Dome | 3:01 | 35,565 | Boxscore |
Second-place playoff
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 25, 2025 | 19:00 | Chinese Taipei | 6–3 | Spain | Taipei Dome | 2:58 | 35,768 | Boxscore |
Pool B
Pool B took place at the Kino Sports Complex's Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Arizona, United States, on March 2–6, 2025.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 1.000 | — | Final tournament |
| 2 | Brazil | 4 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 18 | .750 | 0.5 | |
| 3 | Germany | 4 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 27 | .250 | 2.5 | |
| 4 | China | 3 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 32 | .000 | 3 |
Notes:
- Brazil defeated Germany in the second-place playoff, 6–4.
Opening round
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2, 2025 | 11:00 | China | 2–12 | Germany | 7 | Veterans Memorial Stadium | 2:28 | 1,549 | Boxscore |
| March 2, 2025 | 18:00 | Brazil | 0–5 | Colombia | Veterans Memorial Stadium | 2:23 | 2,332 | Boxscore | |
| March 3, 2025 | 11:00 | Brazil | 9–7 | Germany | Veterans Memorial Stadium | 3:05 | 2,193 | Boxscore | |
| March 3, 2025 | 18:00 | Colombia | 8–1 | China | Veterans Memorial Stadium | 2:39 | 1,259 | Boxscore | |
| March 4, 2025 | 11:00 | China | 2–12 | Brazil | 7 | Veterans Memorial Stadium | 2:30 | 3,566 | Boxscore |
| March 4, 2025 | 18:00 | Germany | 0–10 | Colombia | 7 | Veterans Memorial Stadium | 2:07 | 2,137 | Boxscore |
Second-place playoff
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 6, 2025 | 18:00 | Germany | 4–6 | Brazil | Veterans Memorial Stadium | 2:23 | 2,247 | Boxscore |
Statistical leaders
* Minimum 2.7 plate appearances per team game
* Minimum 0.8 innings pitched per team game
Awards
While no official awards were given, MLB.com named 10 standout players from the qualifiers.
Broadcast
On February 3, alongside the first pool roster reveals, it was announced that the 2025 WBC qualifiers would be shown on the WBC YouTube channel, WBC Facebook page, MLB.tv and WBC website (WorldBaseballClassic.com). MLB Network will also broadcast select games for all its covered areas (including US).
Like the 2022 qualifiers, qualifiers and already qualified teams also have broadcast partners locally, as follows:
| Territory | Rights holder(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil |
| |
| China |
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| Colombia |
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| Germany | Sportdigital | |
| Latin America (excluding Brazil) |
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| Panama |
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| South Korea | SpoTV | |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | ESPN Africa | |
| Taiwan |
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| United States |
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| Bahamas | MLB Network | |
| Bonaire | ||
| Canada | ||
| Cayman Islands | ||
| Curaçao | ||
| Puerto Rico | ||
| US Virgin Islands | ||
| Sint Maarten |
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