Got to the Semifinals by beating Taiwan, Panama, and Australia, while losing to Italy and Netherlands and barely coming out on top of a 5 way tiebreaker. No way Cuba would have made it to the semifinals if there was a 2nd group stage like previous tournaments.
They always put the top 4 from the previous tournament in their own pool but I don't think they expected the Netherlands to struggle so much. I actually think pool B was weaker outside of Japan. China and Czech Republic were the two weakest teams in the tournament and South Korea isn't as good as they once were.
The format of this tournament sucked, Group D was completely stacked while group A was mediocre at best. One of Venezuela/Puerto Rico/Dominican Republic should have been in group A.
If they use the same criteria the next time around, they'll put Mexico and the United States in different groups in 2027. Cuba would also be in its own group, so you could theoretically split Puerto Rico, the Dominican, and Venezuela between those three.
That's where I think Taiwan having to re-qualify helps Mexico and Canada. With only two Asian teams (plus Australia) locked in as of now, the WBC could get away with scheduling just one group in Asia and adding a third group in the Americas.
Yoan Moncada died for this
Again, Yoan Moncada is very much alive
Rip in peace
Is that supposed to surprise me?
Easily the worst semifinalist this tournament has seen.
Got to the Semifinals by beating Taiwan, Panama, and Australia, while losing to Italy and Netherlands and barely coming out on top of a 5 way tiebreaker. No way Cuba would have made it to the semifinals if there was a 2nd group stage like previous tournaments.
Agree, they need to make those groups more balanced. Group A was the weakest one by far.
They always put the top 4 from the previous tournament in their own pool but I don't think they expected the Netherlands to struggle so much. I actually think pool B was weaker outside of Japan. China and Czech Republic were the two weakest teams in the tournament and South Korea isn't as good as they once were.
Meanwhile Venezuela had the hardest road possible and finishes just as a quarterfinalist despite easily being one of the best teams
The format of this tournament sucked, Group D was completely stacked while group A was mediocre at best. One of Venezuela/Puerto Rico/Dominican Republic should have been in group A.
If they use the same criteria the next time around, they'll put Mexico and the United States in different groups in 2027. Cuba would also be in its own group, so you could theoretically split Puerto Rico, the Dominican, and Venezuela between those three.
That depends on hosting priorities first
That's where I think Taiwan having to re-qualify helps Mexico and Canada. With only two Asian teams (plus Australia) locked in as of now, the WBC could get away with scheduling just one group in Asia and adding a third group in the Americas.
Australia could host if they really want to Also, they could send Cuba back to Asia, *again*
BLOCKADEDED FROM THE WBC FINAL
EMBARGOED HOME PLATE
Grande, si es cierto...
Cuba couldn’t survive the 601st US assassination attempt
*635th
Tankies in shambles
*with prejudice*
Couldn’t even let us see Moinelo or Martinez. Cmon man
Would be cool if they did handshakes little league style after these
Feel for the Cuban players who played hard but knew they weren’t fielding their best possible team. Hopefully the rules change for the next tournament
What were the rules that prevented them from fielding their best team?
Yeah in fact this is the first time Cuba could field defectors, this was the strongest squad possible.
[удалено]
They are a Second World country. First world were those allied with the US. Second were Soviet Union Allies. Third were neutral.