World Baseball Classic qualification is the process that determines which nations will compete at the World Baseball Classic. Qualification takes place the year prior to the tournament, which itself is played every four years.
Currently, the World Baseball Classic's main tournament includes 20 nations, an expansion from the 16-team fields of the first four WBCs held between 2006 and 2017. For the fifth edition of the WBC, to be held in 2023, the 16 participating nations from 2017 all received automatic berths; the remaining four slots were filled by the winners and runners-up of two six-team qualifying tournaments. Therefore, twenty-eight nations enter the tournament at any point. To date, thirty nations have entered either qualifying or the main tournament, with Argentina becoming the 30th different nation to participate in a WBC event when it debuted in the qualifying round for 2023.
Unlike other international tournaments such as the Rugby World Cup, FIFA World Cup, and FIBA Basketball World Cup, the qualifying tournaments are not arranged on a regional or geographic basis.
The 2006 and 2009 tournaments each had the same 16–team field, chosen by invitation. Starting with the 2013 tournament, the top 12 teams from the previous tournament qualified automatically and a qualifying round was added to determine the remaining 4 teams. The qualifiers were organized as four independent modified double-elimination tournaments featuring four teams each. The final game was winner-take-all, even if won by the team emerging from the loser's bracket. That is, the team emerging from the winner's bracket might be eliminated despite losing only one game. [1]
For the 2013 tournament, qualifying tournaments were held in late 2012. The four nations – (Canada, Chinese Taipei, Panama, and South Africa) – that had failed to win games in the 2009 tournament were joined by twelve new invited nations. Canada and Chinese Taipei won their qualifying tournaments to return to the main tournament, while Spain and Brazil qualified to make their World Baseball Classic debuts.
For 2017 qualifying, Australia, Mexico, Spain, and Brazil were relegated to the qualification stage. Previous entrants Panama and South Africa returned, joined by the other invited nations, with the exception of Thailand, who was replaced by Pakistan, who was invited following its 5th-place finish at the 2015 Asian Baseball Championship. [2]
With the fifth edition of the WBC's main tournament expanding from 16 teams to 20, there was no relegation as all 16 participating nations from 2017 were given automatic berths. The qualifying round was reorganized into two six-team tournaments, with the winners and runners-up advancing to the main event. Qualifying for the fifth WBC was originally scheduled for March 2020, with both tournaments planned to take place in Tucson, Arizona. However, the qualifiers, along with the main WBC tournament, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [3]
When the fifth WBC was rescheduled for 2023, the qualifying round was also rescheduled and took place in September and October 2022. However, the composition of the teams changed, with Argentina replacing the Philippines, and the two tournaments were instead hosted in Regensburg, Germany, and Panama City, Panama. [4] The 2023 qualifying tournaments produced three first-time entrants to the WBC in the Czech Republic, Great Britain, and Nicaragua, while Panama earned its first trip back to the main tournament since being relegated in 2009.
Coming out of the 2023 WBC, the qualification setup will return to a relegation model similar to 2013 and 2017. The top 16 finishers from 2023 will again receive automatic bids to the 2026 WBC, while the four teams which finished in last place in their first-round pools will be relegated to the qualifying round. [5]
| WBC | Relegated | Invitee | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 |  Canada  Chinese Taipei  Panama  South Africa |  Brazil  Colombia  Czech Republic  France  Germany  Great Britain  Israel  New Zealand  Nicaragua  Philippines  Spain  Thailand | 16 |
| 2017 |  Australia  Mexico |  Pakistan | 3 |
| 2023 | None |  Argentina | 1 |
| 2026 |  China | TBD | TBD |
The table is accurate through the completion of 2023 World Baseball Classic qualification.
| Team | Part | Pld | W | L | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Canada | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Mexico | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Chinese Taipei | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Israel | 2 | 6 | 5 | 1 | .833 |
| Colombia | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | .666 |
| Brazil | 3 | 10 | 6 | 4 | .600 |
| Panama | 3 | 10 | 6 | 4 | .600 |
| Great Britain | 3 | 10 | 6 | 4 | .600 |
| Spain | 3 | 10 | 5 | 5 | .500 |
| Nicaragua | 3 | 10 | 5 | 5 | .500 |
| Argentina | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 |
| Czech Republic | 3 | 9 | 4 | 5 | .444 |
| Germany | 3 | 9 | 3 | 6 | .333 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 9 | 3 | 6 | .333 |
| South Africa | 3 | 9 | 3 | 6 | .333 |
| Philippines | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 |
| France | 3 | 7 | 1 | 6 | .143 |
| Thailand | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| Pakistan | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 |
The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament, sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) through the World Baseball Classic Inc. and the winning team is awarded the World Baseball Classic Championship Trophy
The Australian national baseball team represents Australia in international baseball tournaments and competitions. It is ranked as the top team in Oceania, and is the Oceanian Champion, having been awarded the title in 2007 when New Zealand withdrew from the Oceania Baseball Championship. After achieving a last (16th) place in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, its rank dropped to 13, which is the lowest rank Australia ever received. The highest rank it has achieved is 6th, and its current rank is 10th.
The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 2nd in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United States has won many international tournaments, many of which are now discontinued. Most notably the team won the Olympic baseball tournament in 2000, and the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2017.
The Canada national baseball team represents Canada in international baseball. They are overseen by Baseball Canada, the governing body of baseball in Canada.
The Netherlands national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, representing the country in international men's baseball. They are currently ranked as the best team in the WBSC Europe, and the team is also ranked seventh in the WBSC World Rankings.
The Italy national baseball team represents Italy in international baseball competitions. The Italian national team was ranked 16th in the world as of 2022. The team is managed by Mike Piazza, a former New York Mets player and Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee.
The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts were Seoul, Tokyo, Miami, and Zapopan. The second-round hosts were Tokyo and San Diego, and the championship round was played in Los Angeles.
The Chinese Taipei baseball team is the national men's baseball team of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. The team is ranked fourth in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The team is usually made up of professionals from Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League, Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, and Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball from the United States.
The Great Britain national baseball team is the national men's baseball team of the United Kingdom. It is governed by the British Baseball Federation, and is also a member nation of the Confederation of European Baseball.
The Israel National Baseball Team represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Ian Kinsler.
The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009.
The qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic was held from September 19 to November 19, 2012. Although the 2006 and 2009 editions of the World Baseball Classic were contested by the same pre-selected field of 16 teams, for the 2013 tournament only the 12 teams that won at least one game in 2009 were guaranteed a berth in the main tournament. The other four contested the qualifying round along with 12 additional teams invited by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF).
The qualifying Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic was held from February 11 to September 25, 2016. Teams which participated at the 2013 World Baseball Classic were automatically qualified for the 2017 tournament except the four nations which ended up last in their respective groups: Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and Spain had to play in the qualifiers along with 12 other national teams. 16 teams participated, divided into four groups of four teams each. The winners of each of the four groups qualified for the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
This article lists the performances of each of the 23 national teams which have made at least one appearance in the World Baseball Classic. The 2006 and 2009 tournaments, each had the same 16–team field, chosen by invitation. Beginning with the 2013 tournament, the four last-place teams from the previous tournament's first round each contested a qualifying round against three additional teams. The outcome of this process has been that 14 of the original 16 teams have continued to appear in every tournament. In 2013, Canada and Chinese Taipei re-qualified while Panama and South Africa were respectively replaced by Brazil and Spain. In 2017, Australia and Mexico re-qualified while Brazil and Spain were respectively replaced by Colombia and Israel.
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification process decided all 24 teams which played in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, with the hosts France qualifying automatically. It is the eighth FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football world championship tournament. The tournament is the third to be hosted in Europe, after the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sweden and the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany.
Team Israel has competed in the World Baseball Classic since the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier round. In 2017 Israel competed at a World Baseball Classic qualifier for the second time, and for the first time qualified for the main tournament.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023 and ran until March 21.
The AFC Asian Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the final tournament of AFC Asian Cup. The qualification reduces the large field of eligible entrants from 47 to just 24 for the finals.
The qualifying round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic was held from 16 September 2022 to 5 October 2022. Teams which participated at the 2017 World Baseball Classic automatically qualified for the 2023 tournament. The qualifying round consisted of two tournaments to be participated by six teams each. The qualifiers were planned to be hosted in Tucson, Arizona in the United States but after the delay, the qualifier hosts were changed to the cities of Regensburg, Germany at Armin-Wolf-Arena and Panamá City, Panama at Estadio Rod Carew. Winners and runners-up of each of the two tournaments qualified for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
The UEFA Women's Nations League is an upcoming biennial international women's football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body.