Baseball

Samurai Japan Advance to World Baseball Classic Quarterfinals Following South Korea Loss to Taiwan

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:58 JST, March 8, 2026

Samurai Japan secured on Sunday its place in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic to be held in the United States.

Following South Korea’s 4-5 defeat to Taiwan on the same day, Samurai Japan guaranteed a spot in the top two of Pool C and advanced to the quarterfinals ahead of their 7 p.m. match with Australia, both of whom had secured two wins.

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Even if Japan was to lose both upcoming matches against Australia, and the Czech Republic on Tuesday, it would still finish above Taiwan and South Korea, who could potentially finish with two wins and two losses each, due to having beaten both teams in head-to-head matches. A victory over Australia would see Japan top Pool C.

In the match against South Korea on Saturday, Samurai Japan secured a hard-fought victory, with MLB players Shohei Ohtani, Seiya Suzuki and Masataka Yoshida all hitting home runs.