Team USA is moving on to the championship game in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. The Americans won a tense semifinal showdown against the Dominican Republic on Sunday night in Miami. Team USA notched a 2-1 win over the D.R. as Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony hit solo home runs, and the American pitching staff quieted a star-studded lineup that was red-hot throughout the tournament.
On the other side of the bracket, Italy continued its unbeaten run on Saturday. The Italians knocked Puerto Rico out with an 8-6 win in Houston. In the last quarterfinal bout, Venezuela knocked out Shohei Ohtani and the reigning champions, Japan, in an 8-5 upset on Saturday night.
Either Italy or Venezuela will meet Team USA for the title on Tuesday night.
Here’s a look at the 2026 World Baseball Classic bracket:
2026 World Baseball Classic bracket
World Baseball Classic/MLB
Team USA’s advancement out of pool play was more nerve-wracking than expected, but the Americans are through to the semifinals thanks to Italy’s win over Mexico on Wednesday night. Team USA lost to Italy on Tuesday and had to sweat out Wednesday’s result. A narrow Mexico win would’ve sent the Americans packing.
Team USA finished in second place in Pool B, going 3-1 in group play. The U.S. easily beat Brazil and Great Britain before a close win over Mexico. The Americans then shockingly lost to Italy on Tuesday and set up a scenario where their quarterfinal fate was out of their hands. Italy, though, finished off a perfect round of pool play by beating Mexico to earn first place in Pool B. Italy’s win over Mexico prevented the knockout spots from being determined by the complicated WBC tiebreaker rules.
World Baseball Classic knockout scores, scheduleÂ
All games are available to stream on fubo (Try for free).
Quarterfinals
Friday, March 13
Dominican Republic 10, Korea 0 (7)
United States 5, Canada 3
Saturday, March 14
Italy 8, Puerto Rico 6
Venezuela 8, Japan 5
Semifinals
Sunday, March 15
United States 2, Dominican Republic 1
Monday, March 16
Italy vs. Venezuela, 8 p.m. ET, FS1
Championship game
Tuesday, March 17
United States vs. TBD, 8 p.m. ET, FS1
FanDuel considered Team USA to be the favorite to win the WBC entering the semifinals (+140 odds). The Dominican Republic was second (+160), ahead of Venezuela (+360) and Italy (+750).
