S. Korea grouped with Japan at 2023 World Baseball Classic

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will face world No. 1 Japan at a major international baseball tournament scheduled for next spring.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) announced Friday that the fifth edition of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) will run from March 9 to 21, 2023. The international baseball governing body also said the tournament will expand from 16 teams at its previous event in 2017 to 20 teams this time.

All 16 teams from the 2017 tournament have been invited back for 2023, and they will be joined by four teams from two qualifying tournaments, scheduled from Sept. 16 to 21 in Germany and Sept. 30 to Oct. 5 in Panama.

The first round will feature four groups of five teams for round-robin play, and the top two finishers from those four groups will advance to the quarterfinals.

South Korea, ranked No. 3, will be in Group B against the two-time champion Japan (No. 1), Australia (No. 10), China (No. 21) and a qualifier winner. Group B matches will be played at Tokyo Dome in the Japanese capital from March 9 to 13.

South Korea finished third at the inaugural WBC in 2006 and was the runner-up to Japan in 2009. South Korea then was knocked out of the preliminary round in each of the next two tournaments, in 2013 and 2017.

Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul staged opening round action in 2017 but was not selected as a host this time.

Group A teams are Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Italy, the Netherlands and a qualifier winner. They will play at Intercontinental Stadium in Taichung, Chinese Taipei, from March 9 to 13.

Group C will feature the defending champion, the United States, along with Canada, Colombia, Mexico and a qualifier winner. They will play at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix, from March 11 to 15.

LoanDepot Park in Miami will host all Group D games from March 11 to 15 for the Dominican Republic, Israel, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and a qualifier winner.

Tokyo Dome will host the quarterfinal games for the top two countries from Groups A and B on March 15 and 16. LoanDepot Park will be the site of the quarterfinal action for the top two teams from Groups C and D on March 17 and 18.

Miami will then host the semifinals on March 19 and 20, and then the championship final on March 21.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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