European Championship to qualify three for WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2026

The Baseball5 European Championship opened at the Kalnapilis Arena in Panevezys, a city in northeastern Lithuania located 130 kilometres from both Riga and Vilnius. The 16-team tournament will qualify three teams for the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2026.

The 16 participating teams are split into four groups:

• Group A: World No. 25 Denmark, No. 3 France, No. 21 Italy, Ukraine
• Group B: No. 32 Bulgaria, Israel, No. 8 Lithuania, No. 20 Romania
• Group C: No. 19 Belgium, Croatia, No. 13 Spain, No. 45 Estonia
• Group D: No. 44 Moldova, No. 17 Netherlands, No. 42 Poland, No. 11 Türkiye.

Group play will determine the pairing for the elimination games in the Round of 16, scheduled for Thursday, November 6. The eight winners will advance to the quarterfinals on Friday, November 7, while the eight losers will compete for the places from 9 to 16.

The semifinals and the medal games are scheduled for Saturday, November 8. The two finalists and the winner of the bronze-medal game will earn the right to the three European spots in the III WBSC Baseball5 World Cup.

The WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2026

The six-team African Championship, hosted by Zambia until November 8, will qualify two teams.

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