The eight spots in the 2026 World Baseball Classic playoffs have been filled. And yes, one of those slots in the bracket belong to the United States.
After a shocking loss to Italy in its pool-play finale in which manager Mark DeRosa sat several of his regular starters, Team USA found itself on the brink of a humiliating elimination before the WBC playoffs. Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper and company breathed a sigh of relief when the Italians pounded Mexico 9-1 to win the pool and advance the Americans as the runners-up.
Now the U.S. faces Canada in a rematch of last month’s Olympic hockey gold-medal games. The winner will head to Miami for the semifinals. There they likely will face Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Juan Soto and the star-studded Dominican Republic, who takes on Korea after blasting past Venezuela 7-5 in an exciting Pool D title game.
Watch WBC games live on Fubo (free trial)
Ronald Acuña Jr. and Venezuela gets Shohei Ohtani and defending WBC champion Japan at loanDepot Park, while Vinnie Pasquantino will bring Italy and their espresso celebration against Puerto Rico, which won its pool despite missing multiple star players because of insurance disputes.
WBC schedule
WBC bracket
All games in the semifinal and championship round will be at loanDepot Park in Miami. All times Eastern.
WBC standings
The top two teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinal round. Teams that clinched a quarterfinal berth are marked with an asterisk.
Pool A
Pool B
Pool C
Pool D
How to watch World Baseball Classic 2026
All World Baseball Classic games will be broadcast on the Fox family of networks. All playoff games will air on Fox, FS1 and FS2, and those games can be streamed live on Fubo, which offers a free trial for new subscribers.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: World Baseball Classic playoff bracket is set. Did USA make it?
Reporting by Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
