Returning with renewed anticipation in 2026, the World Baseball Classic delivered throughout pool play, culminating in an epic final day as all three games carried major implications for quarterfinal seeding.

After the U.S. lost to Italy on Tuesday, there was a serious possibility that the second round would not include the Americans’ all-star-laden roster. But once the dust settled on Wednesday’s action, Team USA survived, thanks to Vinnie Pasquantino’s three-homer night in Italy’s win over Mexico.

Along with that espresso-charged Italian victory, Canada advanced past the first round of the WBC for the first time, while the Dominican Republic held off Venezuela in the much-anticipated battle for the top spot in Pool D.

It all locked in the tournament’s final eight, and from here on out, it’s win-or-go-home.

So, as the WBC resets before the quarterfinals get underway on Friday and Saturday, there’s no better time to take a look at how the countries left standing stack up after a successful group stage.

Here is a power ranking of the WBC’s top contenders.

(All games can be seen on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+.)

1. Dominican Republic (4-0, Pool D winner)

Runs scored: 41
Runs allowed: 10
Tournament ERA: 2.38
Tournament OPS: 1.130
Notable round-robin performer: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.500 average, two home runs, one double, seven RBIs, 1.583 OPS)

Quarterfinal opponent: Korea

This Dominican Republic team has brought the party to the World Baseball Classic and is showing no signs of slowing down heading into the quarterfinals.

It’s been all about the bats for Team DR. Its lineup of all-stars leads the Classic in all three triple-slash categories (.313/.458/.672), home runs (13), walks (33) and runs scored (41). While five different Dominican hitters launched multiple homers in Pool D play, it was Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. who led the way. The trio each carried an OPS above 1.200, walked more than they struck out and clearly had fun while doing so in front of an electric Miami crowd.

The Dominican Republic has put together stacked lineups before — albeit not to this extent — but a separating factor for this year’s team has been its pitching and bullpen. Dominican relievers allowed just one earned run over 20.1 innings in the group stage, racking up 18 strikeouts in the process.

If the rotation of Sandy Alcantara, Cristopher Sánchez, Brayan Bello and Luis Severino can hand over games to the ‘pen with a lead, the Dominican Republic will be a serious threat to win its first WBC title since 2013.

2. Japan (4-0, Pool C winner)

Runs scored: 34
Runs allowed: 9
Tournament ERA: 2.12
Tournament OPS: .987
Notable round-robin performer: DH Shohei Ohtani (.556 average, two home runs, six RBIs, 2.025 OPS)

Quarterfinal opponent: Venezuela

Samurai Japan once again cruised through the group stage — it has not lost in the first round since 2013 — and enters the quarterfinal as a favourite to repeat as WBC champs.

Although it was shakier at times than Japan likely would have wanted, escaping with two- and one-run victories over Korea and Australia, Shohei Ohtani and Co. took care of business to finish atop Pool C. Japan finished as the third-highest scoring team in round-robin action and had eight hitters carry an OPS higher than 1.127. 

Each of Ohtani, Seiya Suzuki and Masataka Yoshida hit multiple homers in Japan’s first four games and, combined, pose a serious threat at the top of the order for any of the remaining pitching staffs.

As for Japan’s pitching, it worked a pair of shutouts in pool play, and Yusei Kikuchi was the lone Japanese starter to allow any runs. If Japan is to limit the offensive prowess of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela on its side of the bracket, it will need to continue racking up punchouts as it has through four games. Japan pitchers enter their quarterfinal matchup ranked second in strikeouts per nine (12.97).

3. United States (3-1, Pool B runner-up)

Runs scored: 35
Runs allowed: 17
Tournament ERA: 3.50
Tournament OPS: .944
Notable round-robin performer: SS Bobby Witt Jr. (.357 average, five hits, two doubles, three stolen bases, .971 OPS)

Quarterfinal opponent: Canada

Even after its stunning loss to Italy and some uneven play over four games, the United States remains one of the WBC’s strongest teams. And with some extra motivation added following the loss and the likely increase in … attention to detail, let’s call it, going forward, it’s tough to drop the U.S. too far in any ranking.

Looking at the full picture of Team USA’s tournament, it has been snakebitten by the long ball, with more than half of the runs it allowed coming via the home run. But outside of the gopher ball, American pitching leads this Classic in strikeouts, walks issued and WHIP, and is third in batting average against. The U.S. will also turn over its rotation for the quarters, with Logan Webb and Paul Skenes lined up for its next two games, should it advance.

As the Americans hurtled toward Tuesday’s loss, they did put together a comeback effort that showed why they might be such a tough out when elimination is on the line. The U.S. scored six runs over the final four innings against Italy, seeing the likes of Pete Crow-Armstrong, Roman Anthony and Gunnar Henderson deliver big swings.

Although he has put together a solid showing over four games, all eyes will be on Aaron Judge in the knockout round, especially after his 0-for-4 performance in the loss to Italy.

4. Italy (4-0, Pool B winner)

Runs scored: 32
Runs allowed: 11
Tournament ERA: 2.75
Tournament OPS: 1.038
Notable round-robin performer: OF Dante Nori (.500 average, six hits, two home runs, six RBIs, 1.616 OPS)

Quarterfinal opponent: Puerto Rico

The surprise team of the 2026 WBC, Italy mashed its way to an undefeated record and the top spot in Pool B. Along the way, it knocked off the United States and Mexico with a barrage of long balls.

Although it lost Kyle Teel and Miles Mastrobuoni to injury, Italy’s lineup still features seven hitters with an OPS above .900 and eight who went deep at least once during pool play.

Vinnie Pasquantino put a bow on Italy’s dominant run through the group in Houston, becoming the first player to hit three homers in a single WBC game. But it’s been some of the youngest Italians who have kept the coffee flowing. Canadian-born outfielder Dante Nori and top Royals prospect Jac Caglianone have excelled at the plate, combining to reach base 14 times.

For as much attention as Italy’s bats have gotten, its pitching has also been among the tournament’s best. Italy finished round-robin play third in strikeouts per nine (11.25), seventh in walks per nine (3.75) and sixth in home runs allowed (three) and batting average against (.209).

5. Venezuela (3-1, Pool D runner-up)

Runs scored: 26
Runs allowed: 12
Tournament ERA: 2.75
Tournament OPS: .809
Notable round-robin performer: 2B Luis Arraez (.500 average, six extra-base hits, nine RBIs, 1.743 OPS)

Quarterfinal opponent: Japan

Led by Ronald Acuña Jr., Venezuela is back as a serious contender for the WBC crown. Defeated by only the Dominican Republic in Pool D, Venezuela cruised to the quarterfinals with a roster full of big-league talent.

Acuña is the straw that stirs the drink for this squad. The former NL MVP posted a .526 on-base percentage in the round-robin and scored a WBC-leading eight runs over four games. It’s helped to have Luis Arraez hitting behind him, who turns into something of a power hitter when he puts on that Venezuela uniform — he has more multi-homer games in two Classics than he does in seven MLB seasons.

And while the likes of the Contreras brothers, Salvador Perez and Jackson Chourio haven’t found their footing at the bottom of Venezuela’s order, there’s no doubt that they could change the outlook of a game with one swing of the bat in the coming days.

It’s on the pitching side of things where Venezuela may be more vulnerable than some of the other remaining baseball powers. It does feature a bevy of MLB leverage arms in the bullpen, but only Korea ranked worse than Venezuela among the remaining teams in average against (.218) and strikeouts per nine (9.00), and only Korea and the U.S. surrendered more home runs.

Ranger Suárez offers a strong starting point on Saturday, but there appears to be some risk the deeper you get into Venezuela’s pitching staff.

6. Canada (3-1, Pool A winner)

Runs scored: 21
Runs allowed: 10
Tournament ERA: 1.50
Tournament OPS: .713
Notable round-robin performer: 3B Abraham Toro (.467 average, five extra-base hits, five RBIs, 1.529 OPS)

Quarterfinal opponents: United States

On the backs of strong starts from each of Michael Soroka, Jameson Taillon, Jordan Balazovic and Cal Quantrill, Canada kept opponents in check throughout Pool A action. But perhaps even more impressive in San Juan was its bullpen, which allowed just three earned runs over 21.1 innings, with important contributions coming from unlikely sources such as Brock Dykxhoorn, Noah Skirrow, Logan Allen and James Paxton.

Entering the tournament, Canada’s calling card appeared to be its offence. And while the bats did enough to claim three wins, Canada certainly wasn’t firing on all cylinders through its first four games. Owen Caissie and Abraham Toro did much of the heavy lifting in the Canadian lineup, combining for 14 hits, six doubles, two big flies and 10 of the team’s 21 RBIs.

If Canada is to make noise from here on out, though, it will need some of its big boppers at the top of its lineup to spring for extra bases. Josh Naylor and Tyler O’Neill both reached base at an above-average clip in Puerto Rico, but neither has done the damage they’ve proven capable of at the major-league level.

7. Puerto Rico (3-1, Pool A runner-up)

Runs scored: 15
Runs allowed: 7
Tournament ERA: 1.22
Tournament OPS: .582
Notable round-robin performer: RHP Luis Quiñones (Two games, 4.0 innings pitched, zero hits, zero runs, one walk, seven strikeouts)

Quarterfinal opponent: Italy

Even without stars Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa and Javier Báez, Puerto Rico remains a constant in the WBC quarterfinals, having now advanced past the first round in all six Classics.

However, this year, Puerto Rico rode its pitching to the second round in front of its home crowd in San Juan.

Puerto Rican pitchers allowed just five earned runs against their Pool A competition, holding hitters to a .153 batting average while collecting 40 strikeouts in 37 innings. Starters Seth Lugo, Eduardo Rivera and Elmer Rodríguez all looked sharp, combining for 11.1 frames of one-run ball across Puerto Rico’s three victories. And, of course, should Puerto Rico hold any late leads, Edwin Díaz is looming in the bullpen. The star closer struck out five of the seven hitters between his appearances against Colombia and Cuba.

It’s no secret that Puerto Rico has struggled offensively, carrying a .582 team OPS. But what its hitters have done well is deliver big hits in big moments, with Martín Maldonado’s bases-clearing double against Cuba and Darell Hernaiz’s walk-off homer against Panama standing as its two biggest swings of the tournament.

But with middle-of-the-order threats such as Nolan Arenado and Heliot Ramos scuffling, Puerto Rico’s offence will need to find another gear to keep up with some of this WBC’s top lineups.

8. Korea (2-2, Pool C runner-up)

Runs scored: 28
Runs allowed: 19
Tournament ERA: 4.50
Tournament OPS: .796
Notable round-robin performer: 1B Bo Gyeong Moon (.538 average, two home runs, 11 RBIs, 1.779 OPS)

Quarterfinal opponent: Dominican Republic

A strong offensive showing and some timely pitching helped Korea advance past the first round for the first time since 2009, but its staff is in for a tough test in the knockout round.

Korea punched its ticket to the quarterfinals after some tiebreaker mayhem of its own. Entering its final game against Australia, Korea essentially needed to beat the Aussies by five or more to advance. It came down to the wire, but when Hyun Min Ahn put the final touch on a 7-2 victory with a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth and Byeong Hyeon Jo slammed the door in the bottom half, Korea found itself on the way to Miami.

Even after advancing, Korea’s pitching remains a major question mark heading into its quarterfinal matchup against a stacked Dominican lineup. In the round-robin, Korea ranked 12th of 20 countries in batting average against and tied for last in home runs allowed.

That likely means for it to deliver an upset on Friday, Korea’s bats will have to step up. Bo Gyeong Moon has been one of this WBC’s top offensive stars, leading the tournament in RBIs (11), but beyond the first baseman, Korea will look for some of its established MLB talent to raise its level in the final eight. Big-leaguers Jung Hoo Lee, Jahmai Jones and Hyeseong Kim all posted an OPS south of .710 in the pool stage, with the trio going hitless in a key loss to Chinese Taipei.