WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship Preview: Five Top 10 teams to battle in Group A

The battle in Group A for a place in the playoffs of the WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship, the title of World Champion and the first berth at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will start on Friday, 3 August. United States is the defending champion and the favourite to win the Group, but they will face fierce competition from the other seven nations, especially Chinese Taipei, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Philippines, who have playoffs experience in this event and expect to be back in the top eight this year. South Africa, the lowest ranked team in the tournament, will try to advance to the finals for the first time in history.

You can check all the information of the tournament in the WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship website: https://wswc.wbsc.org/.

UNITED STATES

WSWC Appearances: 15

Highest finish: Champion (1974, 1978, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 2010, 2016)

2016 finish: Champion

Ranking: 1

United States arrives to Chiba with two simple goals: retain the title and qualify for Tokyo 2020. USA has played 14 of the 15 WSWC finales, winning the world championship 10 times, including seven consecutive titles between 1986 and 2010. They only missed the finale in Taipei 1982, when they ended at fourth place. Besides, they played the four Gold Medal games at the Olympics, winning three of them. USA is one of the most serious candidates for the title.

Round robin schedule:

3 August, 12:30 – vs Mexico

4 August, 15:30 – vs Chinese Taipei

5 August, 10:00 – vs Netherlands

5 August, 18:00 – vs New Zealand

6 August, 18:00 – vs Philippines

7 August, 15:30 – vs South Africa

8 August, 18:00 – vs Puerto Rico

CHINESE TAIPEI

WSWC Appearances: 14

Highest finish: Second (1982)

2016 finish: 11th

Ranking: 5

Chinese Taipei has played in every WSWC except one. They only missed the first event in Australia, so this will be the 15th consecutive World Championship for the Asian nation. Chinese Taipei hosted the world championship in 1982 and played the last game of the tournament there, losing to New Zealand, 2-0, the gold medal game. They have qualified for three Olympic Games so far (1996, 2004 and 2008), but they never made the playoffs in the event.

Round robin schedule:

3 August, 10:00 – vs South Africa

3 August, 18:00 – vs New Zealand

4 August, 15:30 – vs United States

5 August, 12:30 – vs Puerto Rico

6 August, 15:30 – vs Netherlands

7 August, 12:30 – vs Philippines

8 August, 15:30 – vs Mexico

PUERTO RICO

WSWC Appearances: 9

Highest finish: 5th (1986)

2016 finish: 9th

Ranking: 6

Puerto Rico will play in Japan its fourth consecutive World Championship. On their road to Chiba they took last week the Gold Medal in the Central American and Caribbean Games Barranquilla 2018, beating Mexico in the finale, 4-2. Puerto Rico qualified to the WSWC after a fifth place finish in the Pan American Championship Santo Domingo 2017. They want to be back in the Olympics after 24 years; they played in Atlanta 1996, where ended in last place with a 1-8 record.

Round robin schedule:

3 August, 15:30 – vs Netherlands

4 August, 10:00 – vs South Africa

4 August, 18:00 – vs Philippines

5 August, 12:30 – vs Chinese Taipei

6 August, 10:00 – vs Mexico

7 August, 12:30 – vs New Zealand

8 August, 18:00 – vs United States

MEXICO

WSWC Appearances: 5

Highest finish: 5th (1970 and 2016)

2016 finish: 5th

Ranking: 7

Two years ago Mexico matched its best performance ever in the WSWC in Surrey, Canada, finishing at fifth place. The Mexican team is in the hunt for its first Olympic participation, and will try to clinch it in Chiba. They qualified to the World Championship as a runner up in the Americas, losing to USA in the finale of the Pan American Championship 2017.

Round robin schedule:

3 August, 12:30 – vs United States

4 August, 12:30 – vs Philippines

5 August, 15:30 – vs South Africa

6 August, 10:00 – vs Puerto Rico

7 August, 12:30 – vs Netherlands

7 August, 18:00 – vs New Zealand

8 August, 15:30 – vs Chinese Taipei

NETHERLANDS

WSWC Appearances: 13

Highest finish: 4th (2016)

2016 finish: 4th

Ranking: 8

Netherlands will try to build from its best performance in history two years ago, and step in the podium for the first time. The European champions will play the WSWC for the 14th consecutive time; they only missed the first two editions of this competition. The orange team is trying to qualify to the Olympic Games for the third time; they ended seventh in Atlanta 1996 and eight in Beijing 2008.

Round robin schedule:

3 August, 15:30 – vs Puerto Rico

4 August, 18:00 – vs New Zealand

5 August, 10:00 – vs United States

5 August, 15:30 – vs Philippines

6 August, 15:30 – vs Chinese Taipei

7 August, 12:30 – vs Mexico

8 August, 10:00 – vs South Africa

NEW ZEALAND

WSWC Appearances: 15

Highest finish: Champion (1982)

2016 finish: 8th

Ranking: 11

New Zealand has a perfect record of participation in the WSWC, and crowned champions in 1982 in Chinese Taipei, beating the host team in the gold medal game. The White Sox qualified to the playoffs in Surrey 2016, but lost against Netherlands to finish at eighth position. They have never played in the Olympic Games.

Round robin schedule:

3 August, 18:00 – vs Chinese Taipei

4 August, 18:00 – vs Netherlands

5 August, 18:00 – vs United States

6 August, 12:30 – vs South Africa

7 August, 12:30 – vs Puerto Rico

7 August, 18:00 – vs Mexico

8 August, 12:30 – vs Philippines

PHILIPPINES

WSWC Appearances: 6

Highest finish: 3rd (1970)

2016 finish: 16th

Ranking: 15

Back in 1970 Philippines made its debut in the WSWC getting to the podium for the first and only time in the event. They earned bronze in Osaka, Japan, in the second edition of the tournament. Four years later they advanced to the finals again, but lost to Australia and finished at fourth place. Then in 1982 Philippines made the playoffs again, finishing at fifth place; and since that year they have never come back to the finals.

Round robin schedule:

3 August, 15:30 – vs South Africa

4 August, 10:00 – vs Mexico

4 August, 18:00 – vs Puerto Rico

5 August, 12:30 – vs Netherlands

6 August, 18:00 – vs United States

7 August, 12:30 – vs Chinese Taipei

8 August, 12:30 – vs New Zealand

SOUTH AFRICA

WSWC Appearances: 6

Highest finish: 9th (1974)

2016 finish: n/a

Ranking: 35

South Africa made its debut in the WSWC in 1974, in Stratford, Connecticut, USA, and they had their best performance ever, tying in the ninth place of the tournament. After that South Africa have never ended again in the top ten of the world championship. Their last appearance in the event was six years ago, in Whitehorse 2012, when they ended in the 15th place. They qualified for Chiba as the runner up in the African Championship early this year, and they will try to make the playoffs for the first time in history.

Round robin schedule:

3 August, 10:00 – vs Chinese Taipei

3 August, 15:30 – vs Philippines

4 August, 10:00 – vs Puerto Rico

5 August, 15:30 – vs Mexico

6 August, 12:30 – vs New Zealand

7 August, 15:30 – vs United States

8 August, 10:00 – vs Netherlands