Team USA is moving on in the 2026 World Baseball Classic bracket. The Americans held on for a 5-3 win against Canada on Friday night at Daikin Park in Houston. Team USA’s win sets up the biggest game of the tournament so far: USA vs. the Dominican Republic on Sunday in the semifinals.
The Dominican Republic improved to 5-0 in the WBC on Friday night, smashing Korea in a 10-0 rout. Team USA and D.R. are the two biggest favorites to win the WBC title, but only one will reach the title game. Paul Skenes will get the ball for the Americans against the loaded Dominican Republic lineup.
On the other side of the bracket, Italy continued its unbeaten run on Saturday. The Italians knocked Puerto Rico out with an 8-6 win in Houston. In the last quarterfinal bout, Venezuela will try to knock out Shohei Ohtani and the reigning champions, Japan, on Saturday night.
The quarterfinals are being held Friday and Saturday, the semifinals will be Sunday and Monday, and the 2026 World Baseball Classic championship game is set for Tuesday. The semis and title game will be held at Marlins Park in Miami.
Here’s a look at the 2026 World Baseball Classic bracket:
2026 World Baseball Classic bracket
World Baseball Classic/MLB
Team USA’s advancement out of pool play was more nerve-wracking than expected, but the Americans are through to the semifinals thanks to Italy’s win over Mexico on Wednesday night. Team USA lost to Italy on Tuesday and had to sweat out Wednesday’s result. A narrow Mexico win would’ve sent the Americans packing.
Team USA finished in second place in Pool B, going 3-1 in group play. The U.S. easily beat Brazil and Great Britain before a close win over Mexico. The Americans then shockingly lost to Italy on Tuesday and set up a scenario where their quarterfinal fate was out of their hands. Italy, though, finished off a perfect round of pool play by beating Mexico to earn first place in Pool B. Italy’s win over Mexico prevented the knockout spots from being determined by the complicated WBC tiebreaker rules.
World Baseball Classic knockout scores, schedule
All games are available to stream on fubo (Try for free).
Quarterfinals
Friday, March 13
Dominican Republic 10, Korea 0 (7)
United States 5, Canada 3
Saturday, March 14
Italy 8, Puerto Rico 6
Japan vs. Venezuela, 9 p.m. ET, Fox
Semifinals
Sunday, March 15
Dominican Republic vs. United States, 8 p.m. ET, FS1
Monday, March 16
Italy vs. TBD, 8 p.m. ET, FS1
Championship game
Tuesday, March 17
TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. ET, FS1
FanDuel considers Team USA to be the favorite to win the WBC (+130 odds). The Dominican Republic is second (+230), ahead of Japan (+410), Italy (+850) and Venezuela (+1000). The Americans are considered -140 favorites in the head-to-head matchup with the Dominican Republic (+116), with Skenes likely to be opposed by Luis Severino.
Japan took down the United States in the 2023 title game, with Ohtani famously striking out then-Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out. Will the bracket provide a rematch? Or will the star-studded Dominican lineup or another team make a run at the trophy this year? We’ll find out in the coming days.
