A total of 12 teams from all five Olympic continents will begin their quest for the WBSC World Championship title when the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup 2024 kicks off in Barranquilla and Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, on August 16. The 50-match tournament will run until August 25, when the world champion will be crowned.
The 30th edition of the WBSC U-15 World Cup represents the 185th World Champion title ever contested in the history of international baseball and softball and the 114th for baseball alone.
With 10 days to go until the start of the World Cup, let’s take a look at the teams participating in this World Cup.
The teams have been divided into two groups to begin the tournament, with the opening round taking place from August 16-20. The top three places in the opening round standings will advance to the Super Round. The first and second places in the Super Round will play in the World Championship final, while the third and fourth places will face each other for the bronze medal.
With the United States and Cuba – the two most decorated nations in the history of this competition and winners of 13 of the last 15 editions of the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup – not participating in this year’s event, baseball fans can expect a tough and intense competition for the World Championship title.
Let’s take a look at each of the groups in the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup 2024 (historical data includes all 13 U-16 Youth Baseball World Championships and five U-15 Baseball World Cups).
Group A
Two medalists and one world champion will begin Group A of the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup 2024 as two of the favorites to advance to the Super Round. Two-time world champion and world No. 1 Japan and bronze medalist and No. 9 Dominican Republic will play No. 12 Puerto Rico, No. 13 Colombia, No. 14 Italy and No. 33 Guam in the Opening Round I.
Japan won the first two editions of this tournament in 1989 and 1990. Since then, the Japanese have not won the title again. Holders of two silver medals and one bronze, Japan has five podium finishes at the event, the last of which took place in 2016 on home soil. The Japanese team qualified for the World Cup as runners-up at the Asian Qualifying Tournament held in China. They lost to Chinese Taipei in the final 6-4.
The Dominican Republic will be participating in this tournament for the fourth time and for the second time in the last three editions. Its first participation was in Mexico 1994, when it lost the final to its Caribbean archrival Cuba. This is its only medal in the tournament to date. It finished 11th in 2011 in Lagos de Moreno, Mexico; and sixth in Panama 2016. The Dominican Republic hosted the Americas Qualifying Tournament in March, where it lost the final to Puerto Rico, 5-4.
Pan American champion Puerto Rico is the third-highest ranked team in the group. The Boricuas swept the Qualifying Tournament in Boca Chica, winning all six of their games. This will be their second appearance at the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup, following their debut in 2022 in Hermosillo, Mexico, where they finished in fifth place.
Colombia is the third team from the Americas in Group A. As the host, they earned a wildcard to participate in this event. The tournament will mark their third appearance at the U-15 Baseball World Cup. They made their debut in 2016 in Iwaki, Japan, finishing in sixth place, and appeared again in Hermosillo, Mexico, in 2022, earning a ninth-place finish.
Representing the European continent, Italy returns to the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup after 10 years. Their last participation was in 2014 in Mazatlan, Mexico, when they finished 12th. This will be Italy’s fifth participation in this event after advancing to the World Cup thanks to a second-place finish at last year’s European Championship, losing the final to their historic rivals, the Netherlands, 14-4 in five innings.
The lowest-ranked team in Group A is Guam, representing Oceania after winning the qualifying match against New Zealand in a best-of-three series. They won the playoff match 13-2 and qualified for their second consecutive World Cup. Guam made their debut in 2022, finishing 12th and becoming the 35th team to participate in the U-15 Baseball World Cup. Guam earned their first ever win at a WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup on the opening day against South Africa 10-8.
B Group
World No. 2 Mexico, No. 5 Chinese Taipei, No. 6 Venezuela, No. 7 Netherlands, No. 20 Nicaragua and No. 34 South Africa will face off in World Cup Group B. Chinese Taipei (10), Venezuela (4) and Mexico (1) have 15 medals, including a pair of world titles for Chinese Taipei and Venezuela.
In its 13th appearance at the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup, Mexico is aiming for its second medal at the competition. Its only podium finish came in 2009 in Taichung, where it finished behind the United States and Cuba in the final standings. Mexico, which has played in six of the last seven competitions, took third place in the Americas Qualifying Tournament with a 3-1 win over Group A rival Nicaragua, thereby securing a spot in the global event.
Chinese Taipei is the team with the most podium finishes among the participants at the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup 2024. They won the world title in 1991 in Melbourne, Australia, and also have five silver and four bronze medals to their name, including the last two in a row. This will be their 17th appearance in the competition, tying only Japan for the most appearances overall. Chinese Taipei earned their spot over Colombia by winning the Asia Qualifying Tournament, with a 6-4 victory against Japan.
In its 10 previous participations, Venezuela has claimed four medals: a gold in 2012, a silver in 2001 and a pair of bronzes at Fairview Heights 1998 and Mazatlan 2014. This is its most recent medal in the competition to date. Venezuela qualified for this event in dramatic fashion, defeating Brazil 7-5, behind a two-run homer by Jesus Chavez in the Americas Qualifying Tournament.
The Babos countries arrive in Colombia as European Champions, after winning the title last year against Italy with a resounding 14-4 victory in the final. The orange squad is looking for its first medal, after having failed to get on the podium in its first three participations in this World Cup. Its best result has been a seventh place in Lagos de Moreno, Mexico, in 2011.
Nicaragua will participate in the U-15 Baseball World Cup for the second time, after finishing sixth in 2012 in Chihuahua, Mexico. It qualified as the fourth seed in the Americas Qualifying Tournament, losing the continental bronze medal match against Mexico.
The lowest-ranked team in the tournament is South Africa, who will represent the African continent. This will be their eighth appearance in the competition, including the last two in a row, where they finished 12th in 2018 and 13th in 2022, with just one win in 13 matches – a 5-3 win against China in 2018. Their best result is eighth place in the nine-team tournament held in 2003 in Taiwan.
2024-08-06 15:48:12
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