Next year’s World Baseball Classic will take place at Houston’s Minute Maid Park, with Brazil joining the United States, Mexico, Italy, and Britain in Group B of the first round.
The four qualifiers for the 20-nation tournament, which takes place from March 5–17, were distributed by Major League Baseball and the players’ association on Wednesday.
Taiwan will play the Czech Republic, South Korea, Australia, and the reigning champion Japan in Group C in the Tokyo Dome.
At Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Colombia will play in Group A against Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama, and Canada.
At Miami’s loan Depot Park, Nicaragua will join Group D, which also includes the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the Netherlands, and Israel.
The other groups will run from March 6–11, while the Tokyo group will go from March 5–10.
Teams from Groups A and B will play in Houston, while nations from Groups C and D will meet in Miami. The top two teams in each group will move on to the quarterfinals on March 13 and 14. Miami will host the final on March 17 after hosting the semifinals on March 15 and 16.
Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to conclude the game as Japan defeated the United States 3-2 to win the 2023 championship in Miami.
