Wednesday’s Canada WBC victory over Cuba made history. It wasn’t just that the Canadian squad defeated one of the best baseball nations in the world. And it wasn’t that Canada beat both Puerto Rico and Cuba in the same tourney.
Canada made World Baseball Classic history by advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time. Since the tournament’s inception in 2006, the North American squad had not made it past pool play.
That changed on Wednesday with a 7-2 win over the Caribbean side. The victory made the 2026 Canada WBC team the best ever. Its three wins, including the head-to-head win over Puerto Rico, have the club in first place in Pool A.
That was much more than the team had bargained for.
“I’m very excited about it, needless to say. It’s been a long haul.”
The comments by Canada WBC manager Ernie Whitt summed up the experience. Whitt has been on the bench for every edition of the tournament. The disappointment of multiple early exits has finally paid off this year.
At the same time, the Canadians eliminated Cuba. The Caribbean squad dropped to 2-2, marking the first time the island nation has been unable to advance past pool play.
Canada rode a three-run rally in the sixth inning to open up a 5-2 lead. That was the difference as the Cuban squad was unable to get back into the game.
The next Canada WBC opponent will be the United States. The US finished second in Pool B after Italy got back-to-back upsets.
Canada WBC Performance Puts Canada on the Map
The 2026 Canada WBC showing has put the country on the baseball map. Till now, Canada hadn’t been a baseball powerhouse despite producing a constant stream of MLB pros.
But in international play, Canada just hadn’t been able to break through, until now. As Canadian outfielder Abraham Toro put it, fans will now know what Canada can do.
“Canada is definitely a country that is slept on. I just think that [Canadian baseball] is going to continue to grow, and hopefully we can be an inspiration for a younger generation.”
A win over the United States would make even more Canada WBC history, further placing the red maple leaf on the map.
Tough Road Ahead for Canada
The road ahead will certainly be tough for Canada. The next game against the United States will be its most challenging matchup thus far. Assuming Canada can get past the Americans, it would set up a matchup with either the Dominican Republic or Korea in the semi-final.
Those are hardly easy outs by any means. But this Canada WBC team could have legs for multiple upsets. But if there was going to be one Cinderella team in this year’s WBC, why not Canada?
Sure, Italy has also pulled off two stunning upsets. But there’s no reason to think that Canada can’t parlay its solid pitching and defense to defeat other baseball powerhouses.
This Canada WBC squad has already made history and could be looking for more before the final out hits the scoreboard.
Canada WBC Historic Victory in Stunner