European Championship: France, Spain and Turkiye advance to WBSC Baseball5 World Cup

World No. 3 France outscored No. 13 Spain in the final, 2-0 (9-1 and 7-0), to win the III Baseball5 European Championship at the Kalnapilis Arena in Panevėžysin, Lithuania.

The two finalists and the third-place finishers, No. 11 Turkiye, earned the three European spots in the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2026. Turkiye defeated the hosts and defending European Champions, No. 8 Lithuania, in the bronze-medal game, 2-1 (5-9, 4-1 and 8-4).

France won the 16-team tournament undefeated and without losing a set. They overcame Ukraine, No. 25 Denmark, and No. 21 Italy in group play, No. 42 Poland in the Round of 16, Denmark in the quarterfinals, and Turkiye in the semifinals.

Spain proved to be the surprise of the tournament. They overcame No. 45 Estonia, Croatia and No. 19 Belgium without dropping a set in the Opening Round, won by forfait in the Round of 16 against Israel, and outscored Belgium in the quarterfinals. In the semifinal, Spain defeated the hosts and defending European Champions, Lithuania, in a thriller, 2-1 (8-3, 3-4, 2-1). They suffered their only loss in the Championship Game against France.

III Baseball5 European Championship Final Standings

1. France
2. Spain
3. Turkiye
4. Lithuania
5. Italy
6. Romania
7. Denmark
8. Belgium
9. Netherlands
10. Estonia
11. Bulgaria
12. Moldova
13. Ukraine
14. Poland
15. Croatia
16. Israel

The WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2026

No. 5 Tunisia and No. 14 South Africa, the first and second-place finishers of the Baseball5 African Championship, brought the number of qualified teams to five.

The other 11 participants will qualify according to this continental quota:

• Americas: 4 teams
• Asia: 3 teams
• Oceania: 1 team
• Host: 1 team
• Previous World Cup Host (if not qualified): 1 team
• WBSC Wild Card: 1 team