Men's Baseball WBSC World Baseball Classic 2026 (Qualifiers, Tucson)

Friday April 3rd, 2026 - Round-Robin Day 4 Schedule (GMT +8)   12:30   Belgium vs New Zealand 16:00   Lithuania vs Mexico 19:30   Hong Kong vs Ukraine

Thursday April 2nd, 2026 - Round-Robin Day 3 Results (GMT +8)   12:30   New Zealand  1 - 2  Lithuania 16:00   Ukraine  5 - 1  Belgium 19:30   Mexico  0 - 4  Hong Kong   Provisional Standing After Day 3:   1.    9 ----------------- 2.   9 3.   6 4.   3 5.   0 ----------------- 6.   0

The last time this team played well was at Euro 2021 under Mancini, but they 8 months later they lost to Macedonia at home in a 2022 World Cup qualifier play- off at home game... In my opinion, Italy Euro success was thanks to Chiellini and Bonucci's recent big form and Chiesa's tournament of a life. Without them, Italy is simply average team: the 1-4 and 0-3 group defeats to Norway wasn`t a case (under Spalletti, so a good manager, at all). Play-offs, however, are always a lottery in this format – especially when you're playing decisive matches away and also under the pressure of Italy now + Bastoni's red card episode. Such things are decisive. Take the current play-offs: Poland, Denmark and Italy could just as easily have advanced, instead of the Czech Republic, Sweden or Bosnia. Top teams simply don't have to play in these play-offs, why they avoiding the risk of defeat. In groups you have 7-8 home and away matches and no only one- last match chance away

Btw our coach (likely in a couple of days ex-coach as well ) Calzona, not the pizza, Italian himself, presented his 2 cents about Italian failure as well in the press conference after our useless match against Romania. Talk about how nonsensical and pointless this match was    https://sport.aktuality.sk/futbal/clanok/francesco-calzona-reakcia-na-bosna-taliansko-zaspali-sme-2026040100555755775

Was the problem really the coaching staff ? I mean it is 3rd time and in all 3 cases there were different coaches, right ?   Probabyl the issue is somewhere else, I did not know Gattuso and his staff played the matches on the pitch themselves