US grouped with Mexico, Italy and Britain at Houston in 1st round of 2026 World Baseball Classic

NEW YORK (AP) — The United States will face Mexico, Italy and Britain in Group B of the first round of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, which be based at Houston’s Minute Maid Park, Major League Baseball and the players’ association said Wednesday.

Puerto Rico will play Cuba, Panama and Canada in Group A at San Juan’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium.

Defending champion Japan will meet Australia, South Korea and the Czech Republic in Group C at the Tokyo Dome from March 5-10.

The Dominican Republic will face Venezuela, the Netherlands and Israel in Group D at Miami’s loan Depot park.

Each five-nation group also will include a nation that emerges from qualifying, which will be held in February and March 2025. The Tokyo group will run from March 5-10, with the others from March 6-11.

The top two teams in each group advance to quarterfinals on March 13 and 14, with teams from Groups A and B playing in Houston and nations emerging from Groups C and D meeting in Miami. The semifinals will be March 15 and 16 at Miami, which will be the site of the final on March 17.

Japan beat the United States 3-2 for the 2023 title at Miami as Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to end the game. Japan also won titles in 2006 and 2009, while the Dominican Republic won in 2013 and the U.S. in 2017.

Houston is hosting games for the first time and San Juan for the first time since 2013. Tokyo has hosted pools in all five previous editions.