Pool B of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (branded as the World Baseball Classic 2026 Houston Capital One for sponsorship reasons) took place from March 6 to 11, 2026, at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas.[1][2] The second of four pools, the top two teams automatically qualified for the top-eight knockout stage, beginning with quarterfinals in Houston and Miami, Florida.
The group consisted of the United States (co-host), Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, and Brazil.[3] Italy exceeded expectations by going undefeated in pool play and securing the top spot in the quarterfinals.[4] Following Italy's win against Mexico in the final game of the pool, the United States clinched the second place spot, despite fears of their elimination following their upset loss to Italy.[5] Brazil was relegated after failing to win a game and must re-qualify for the next edition of the tournament.[6]
Teams
| Draw position |
Team | Pot | Confederation | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Last appearance |
Previous best performance |
WBSC Rankings[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 |  United States |
1 | WBSC Americas | Hosts + 2023 participants | March 8, 2023 | 6th | 2023 | Champions (2017) | 3 |
| B2 |  Mexico |
2 | WBSC Americas | 2023 participants | March 8, 2023 | 6th | 2023 | Third place (2023) | 6 |
| B3 |  Italy |
3 | WBSC Europe | 2023 participants | March 8, 2023 | 6th | 2023 | Quarterfinals (2013, 2023) | 14 |
| B4 |  Great Britain |
4 | WBSC Europe | 2023 participants | March 8, 2023 | 2nd | 2023 | Pool stage (2023) | 19 |
| B5 |  Brazil |
5 | WBSC Americas | Qualifiers Pool B runners-up | March 6, 2025 | 2nd | 2013 | Pool stage (2013) | 22 |
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy |
4 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 11 | 1.000 | — | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | United States (H) |
4 | 3 | 1 | 35 | 17 | .750 | 1 | |
| 3 | Mexico |
4 | 2 | 2 | 28 | 16 | .500 | 2 | |
| 4 | Great Britain |
4 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 25 | .250 | 3 | |
| 5 | Brazil |
4 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 47 | .000 | 4 | Requalification required for next WBC |
Summary
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2026 | 12:00 CST | Mexico |
8–2 | Great Britain |
Daikin Park | 3:12 | 29,724 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 6, 2026 | 19:00 CST | United States |
15–5 | Brazil |
Daikin Park | 3:30 | 30,825 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 7, 2026 | 12:00 CST | Brazil |
0–8 | Italy |
Daikin Park | 2:47 | 29,357 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 7, 2026 | 19:00 CST | Great Britain |
1–9 | United States |
Daikin Park | 2:57 | 34,368 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 8, 2026 | 12:00 CDT | Great Britain |
4–7 | Italy |
Daikin Park | 3:06 | 35,141 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 8, 2026 | 19:00 CDT | Brazil |
0–16 | Mexico |
6 | Daikin Park | 2:24 | 36,380 | Boxscore |
| Mar 9, 2026 | 12:00 CDT | Brazil |
1–8 | Great Britain |
Daikin Park | 2:43 | 34,395 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 9, 2026 | 19:00 CDT | Mexico |
3–5 | United States |
Daikin Park | 3:04 | 41,628 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 10, 2026 | 20:00 CDT | Italy |
8–6 | United States |
Daikin Park | 3:08 | 38,653 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 11, 2026 | 18:00 CDT | Italy |
9–1 | Mexico |
Daikin Park | 3:09 | 39,894 | Boxscore |
Games
Mexico vs. Great Britain
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Great Britain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Robert Garcia (1−0) LP: Gary Gill Hill (0−1) Home runs: MEX: Nacho Alvarez Jr. (1), Jonathan Aranda (1) GBR: Harry Ford (1) Attendance: 29,724 Umpires: HP − Roberto Ortiz, 1B − Alex Tosi, 2B − Robert Nunez, 3B − Chun Il-soo Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
United States vs. Brazil
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 10 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Brazil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Logan Webb (1−0) LP: Bo Takahashi (0−1) Home runs: USA: Aaron Judge (1) BRA: Lucas Ramirez 2 (2), Victor Mascai (1) Attendance: 30,825 Umpires: HP − Brennan Miller, 1B − Adrian Johnson, 2B − Cesar Quintana, 3B − Zdeněk Zidek Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brazil vs. Italy
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | X | 8 | 12 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Alek Jacob (1−0) LP: Hector Villarroel (0−1) Home runs: BRA: None ITA: Dante Nori 2 (2), Dominic Canzone (1) Attendance: 29,357 Umpires: HP − Chun Il-soo, 1B − Roberto Ortiz, 2B − Brennan Miller, 3B − Zdeněk Zidek Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Great Britain vs. United States
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| United States | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | x | 9 | 12 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Clay Holmes (1−0) LP: Andre Scrubb (0−1) Home runs: GBR: Nate Eaton (1) USA: Kyle Schwarber (1) Attendance: 34,368 Umpires: HP − Alex Tosi, 1B − David Arrieta, 2B − Scott Barry, 3B − Robert Nunez Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Great Britain vs. Italy
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Italy | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 7 | 12 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Gabriele Quattrini (1−0) LP: Nick Wells (0−1) Sv: Greg Weissert (1) Home runs: GBR: None ITA: Andrew Fischer (1), J.J. D'Orazio (1) Attendance: 35,141 Umpires: HP − David Arrieta, 1B − Alex Tosi, 2B − Adrian Johnson, 3B − Zdeněk Zidek Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brazil vs. Mexico
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mexico | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 16 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Taijuan Walker (1−0) LP: Eric Pardinho (0−1) Home runs: BRA: None MEX: Jarren Duran (1), Alejandro Kirk (1), Alek Thomas (1), Julián Ornelas (1) Attendance: 36,380 Umpires: HP − Scott Barry, 1B − Cesar Quintana, 2B − Brennan Miller, 3B − Robert Nunez Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brazil vs. Great Britain
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Great Britain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | x | 8 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Gary Gill Hill (1–1) LP: Tiago Da Silva (0–1) Home runs: BRA: None GBR: Ian Lewis Jr. (1) Attendance: 34,395 Umpires: HP − Brennan Miller, 1B − Zdeněk Zidek, 2B − Scott Barry, 3B − Cesar Quintana Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mexico vs. United States
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| United States | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 8 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Paul Skenes (1–0) LP: Jesus Cruz (0–1) Sv: Garrett Whitlock (1) Home runs: MEX: Jarren Duran 2 (3) USA: Aaron Judge (2), Roman Anthony (1) Attendance: 41,628 Umpires: HP − Adrian Johnson, 1B − Chun Il-soo, 2B − Roberto Ortiz, 3B − David Arrieta Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italy vs. United States
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| United States | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Michael Lorenzen (1–0) LP: Nolan McLean (0–1) Sv: Greg Weissert (2) Home runs: ITA: Sam Antonacci (1), Jac Caglianone (1), Kyle Teel (1) USA: Pete Crow-Armstrong 2 (2), Gunnar Henderson (1) Attendance: 38,653 Umpires: HP – Roberto Ortiz, 1B – Scott Barry, 2B – Robert Nunez, 3B – Cesar Quintana Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italy vs. Mexico
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Aaron Nola (1–0) LP: Javier Assad (0–1) Home runs: ITA: Vinnie Pasquantino 3 (3), Jon Berti (1) MEX: None Attendance: 39,894 Umpires: HP – Alex Tosi, 1B – Adrian Johnson, 2B – David Arrieta, 3B – Chun Il Soo Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Statistics
Source: [8]
Batting
| Team | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OBP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy |
136 | 32 | 40 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 21 | .294 | .398 | .640 | 1.038 |
| United States |
140 | 35 | 41 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 32 | .293 | .430 | .514 | .944 |
| Mexico |
127 | 28 | 34 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 17 | .268 | .380 | .504 | .884 |
| Great Britain |
127 | 15 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 19 | .205 | .308 | .307 | .615 |
| Brazil |
106 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | .130 | .217 | .222 | .439 |
Pitching
| Team | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | HR | K | BB | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States |
3.50 | 36 | 22 | 17 | 14 | 9 | 57 | 6 | 0.778 |
| Italy |
2.75 | 36 | 27 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 45 | 15 | 1.167 |
| Great Britain |
5.29 | 34 | 31 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 31 | 20 | 1.500 |
| Mexico |
4.22 | 32 | 29 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 34 | 20 | 1.531 |
| Brazil |
13.50 | 30.2 | 46 | 47 | 46 | 9 | 17 | 38 | 2.739 |
References
- "Daikin Park in Houston | World Baseball Classic". MLB.com.
- Clair, Michael (May 23, 2024). "Tokyo, San Juan, Houston and Miami announced as World Baseball Classic 2026 hosts". MLB.com. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
- Clair, Michael (April 9, 2025). "World Baseball Classic 2026 pools finalized". MLB.com. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
- Passan, Jeff (March 11, 2026). "Italy beats Mexico to advance at WBC, along with Team USA". ESPN. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
- Green, Austin (March 10, 2026). "Italy stuns Team USA to put Americans on brink of WBC 2026 elimination: Live updates and reaction". The Athletic. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
- Adler, David (March 9, 2026). "Great Britain concludes its '26 Classic run with win over Brazil". MLB.com. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
- "WBSC World Rankings". wbsc.org. December 31, 2025. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
- "2026 World Baseball Classic Team Stats". MLB.com. Retrieved March 11, 2026.