USA, Japan, Venezuela complete lineup for WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup Finals 2025
The eight-team line up for the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup Finals 2025, due to take place in Prince Albert, Canada from 8-13 July next year is now complete after the group stage finished with the Group C tournament in Oklahoma City, USA last week.
Hosts and World No. 7 United States and No. 4 Japan punched the last two Finals 2025 tickets after finishing first and second respectively in the highly competitive Group C tournament, which finished on Saturday at Devon Park - OGE Energy Field.
Following the completion of the Group Stage, Venezuela were also confirmed as the second wild card as the highest-ranked third-place team across all three group stage tournaments (Group A's Venezuela finished in 6th place in the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup 2022, Group C's Guatemala didn't participate while Group B's Canada were already confirmed as the first wild card as Finals 2025 hosts).
After 57 games in the Group Stage, the eight teams for the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup Finals 2025 are confirmed: No. 1 Argentina, No. 2 Australia, No. 3 Canada, No. 4 Japan, No. 5 Venezuela, No. 7 USA, No. 10 New Zealand and No. 14 Dominican Republic will compete for the world title next year in Prince Albert, Canada.
In Oklahoma, which will be the host venue for the women's softball tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, USA worked their way to a 10-0 win over Japan in the final, securing their qualification with an undefeated record.
Despite the loss, Japan rebounded in the Repechage Game to defeat Guatemala 3-0 and claim the second spot from Group C.
In the final standings of Group C, Guatemala edged Colombia 3-2 before falling to Japan in the Repechage game while South Africa finished fifth after an 8-4 win over the Netherlands.
USA’s Jeffrey Lewis was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Group C tournament. He posted an exceptional .688 hitting average, recording 11 hits, one home run, eight RBIs, and 10 runs. His key moment came in the final against Japan, where he delivered a bases-clearing triple that sealed his team’s strong performance.