Men's Softball World Cup Group A Schedule announced; World Champions Australia to open tournament against Venezuela
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<p>World No. 1 and defending World Champions Australia will play against No. 7 Venezuela in Game 1 of the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="WBSC Men's Softball World Cup Group A (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-xviii-mens-softball-world-cup-group-a/home" target="_blank">WBSC Men's Softball World Cup Group A</a> to open the competition in Hermosillo, Mexico, on Wednesday 12 June, at 4pm local time. The game schedule for Group A was confirmed today by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-xviii-mens-softball-world-cup-group-a/schedule-and-results"><img src="https://static.wbsc.org/assets/cms/shares/MSWC_A_Game_Schedule_sq_20240515.png" alt="MSWC Group A Schedule" width="100%" height="auto"></a></p>
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<p>Host and No. 9 Mexico will start their campaign against No. 5 Czechia at 8pm local time at Fernando Ortiz Stadium, right after the Opening Ceremony scheduled at 7pm, while No. 14 Philippines and No. 20 Dominican Republic will meet at 4pm at Mundialistas Hermosillenses Stadium, which has recently been renovated for the event.</p>
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<p>From 13 to 15 June, four games will be played every day split across the two stadiums to complete the Opening Round of the Group, with every team playing a double header. Games at the Fernando Ortiz Stadium will start at 5pm and 8pm, while the games at Mundialistas Hermosillenses Stadium are scheduled at 6pm and 9pm. You can see the full schedule <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-xviii-mens-softball-world-cup-group-a/schedule-and-results">here</a>.</p>
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<p>The XVIII WBSC Men's Softball World Cup is the first Men's Softball World Cup to be staged under the new two-stage system. A total of 18 teams have been split into three groups, with the top two teams in each group’s final standings advancing to the Finals, scheduled for 2025 in Prince Albert, Canada.</p>
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<p>Each group consists of a four-day, 15-game round robin with the top four teams advancing to playoffs on the final day where the top two sides in the standings will play each other with a ticket to the Finals at stake. The loser of the first play-off game will then play against the winner of the game between third and fourth, for the second spot in the Finals. </p>
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<p>The playoffs of Group A will be played on 16 June. </p>
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<p><a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/two-stage-softball-world-cups-competition-format-announced"><img src="https://static.wbsc.org/assets/cms/shares/202404_MSWC_Group_format-OK.png" alt="Men's Softball World Cup Group Stage Format" width="100%" height="auto"></a></p>
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<p>The schedule for Groups B and C will be announced at a later stage. <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-xviii-mens-softball-world-cup-group-b/home">Group B</a> will be hosted in Prince Albert, Canada, from 10 to 14 July; while <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-xviii-mens-softball-world-cup-group-c/home">Group C</a> will be staged in Oklahoma City, USA, from 17 to 21 September.</p>
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<p>Australia are the defending World Champions after winning their second World Championship in <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2022-mens-softball-world-cup/home">Auckland, New Zealand in 2022</a>. They beat Canada, <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2022-mens-softball-world-cup/schedule-and-results/box-score/103078">5-2</a>, in the World Championship Final. USA claimed the <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2022-mens-softball-world-cup/news/brad-kilpatricks-shutout-gives-usa-bronze-medal-at-xvii-wbsc-mens-softball-world-cup">bronze medal</a>.</p>
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