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The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) announced yesterday that is has awarded Czechia a wildcard for the upcoming U18 World Cup, increasing the number of European participants at the tournament to three. Puerto Rico received an invitation as well, finalizing the field for the 12-team tournament that is set to run from Aug 30 – Sept 10 at two sites in Chinese Taipei.
The Czechs failed to qualify for the U18 World Cup on their own after finishing third at the U18 European Championship on home soil last August. The two automatic European berths were awarded to the winners of that tournament, Spain, and the runners-up, the Netherlands.
The Czechs went undefeated in group play last summer, defeating both Italy and Germany in doing so, but lost to the eventual runners-up in the semi-final, 8-2 (box). The squad rebounded from its lone loss of the tournament to defeat Italy again, 4-2 (box), in the bronze-medal match.
The Czechs will now take on the hosts Chinese Taipei, Australia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and South Korea in Group A of the U18 World Cup.
Spain and the Netherlands will compete in Group B, where they will face the defending champions, the United States, along with Japan, Panama, and Venezuela. MrBB
