WBC Team Previews: Great Britain, Brazil and Czechia

We will take a look at three long shots in this preview. It would be stunning if Great Britain, Brazil, or Czechia advanced out of pool play. But March is known for madness.

Notable Players

Jazz Chisholm Jr., perhaps tuning up for the second-ever 50-50 season in MLB history, leads Great Britain. The other active MLB players on the squad are Nate Eaton (Red Sox), Tristan Beck (Giants), Harry Ford (Nationals) and Michael Petersen (Marlins).

Former MLB outfielder Trayce Thompson (seven seasons, four with the Dodgers), who hit 16 home runs for Triple-A Syracuse in 2024 but never played for the Mets, is on the team as well. His brother is Klay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks.

Dante Bichette Jr., whose dad played 14 MLB seasons and whose younger brother will be playing third base for the Mets, is a Team Brazil infielder. He is 33 and was a 2011 first-round pick of the Yankees who advanced as high as Double-A. Brazil has five active minor leaguers and no active major leaguers on the roster.

Czechia doesn’t have a current major or minor leaguer on the team, but it does have catcher Martin Cervenka, 33, who hit seven home runs in 72 games for Triple-A Syracuse in 2021 while posting a .624 OPS. Terrin Vavra, who played in 68 career games for the Orioles, is the only player on Team Czechia with MLB experience on his resume.

WBC History

All three teams are making their second appearance in the tournament. Great Britain went 1-3 in 2023 with an upset win over Colombia. Brazil’s previous showing was in 2013 when it lost all three of its games. Team Brazil earned a spot this time around by beating Germany in a qualifying tournament last year.

Czechia was a fun story in 2023, rallying from behind in the ninth inning to knock off China in its first game and taking a lead against eventual champion Japan. But it lost the lead and didn’t win another game.

Pools

Great Britain and Brazil are both in Pool B with the United States, Italy and Mexico. Great Britain’s first game is on March 6 vs. Mexico, and Brazil begins play on the same day with a game against the United States. Pool B games are in Houston’s Daikin Park.

Czechia begins play on March 5 against Korea in the Tokyo Dome. The other teams in that pool are Japan, Chinese Taipei and Australia.

The top two teams from each of the four pools advance to the quarterfinals. Of note for these three teams, the top four in each pool automatically qualify for the next WBC. The four last-place teams can get in next time through a qualifying tournament.

For MMO’s Robert Colonna’s ranking of all 20 teams, click here. Spoiler, he ranks these three teams 16th (Great Britain), 19th (Czechia), and 20th (Brazil).

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