Softball superpowers, rising nations collide in WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup Group C
The WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup Group Stage will finish this week in Dallas, with Group C running from 29 August to 2 September at The Village Dallas. World No. 1 USA, No. 5 Canada, No. 8 Mexico, No. 9 Australia, No. 16 Philippines and No. 21 Ireland will play for two available tickets in next year's Finals, also to be hosted in Dallas.
This is the third and last group of the 15th edition of the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup (formerly Junior Women's Softball World Championship). Group A was played in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with No. 4 Chinese Taipei and No. 10 Czechia earning their tickets to the Finals 2025. Group B, heavily affected by rain, was contested in Pingtan, China, With No. 2 Japan and No. 11 China advancing to the Finals. No. 3 Puerto Rico earned the first wild card for the Finals as Group B's third place. Te second wild card will be allocated to No. 34 New Zealand, third in Group A, or the third place finisher in Dallas.
Three of the six participating teams in Group C have won a medal in the previous 14 editions of this event. USA, the most decorated nation in the history of this competition, hold 14 medals, Australia have five bronzes while Canada own one bronze medal.
Let's make a historical review of the six participating teams in Group C.
Australia
- U18 WSWC Appearances: 13
- Highest finish: 3rd (2013, 2007, 2003, 1995 and 1991)
- 2021 finish: N/A
- World Ranking: No. 9
Australia participated in the first 13 editions of this event, missing it for the first time in 2021 in Lima, Peru, in a pandemic-affected competition. One of the powerhouses of this sport, Australia have never played a Final, finishing third place five times. The Aussies are looking to be back un the podium again after 11 years.
Australia qualified for this competition as second-place finishers of the Oceania Qualifier, played at the Tony Solaita Field in Tafuba, American Samoa. Australia finished with a 2-2 record, winning their two games agains American Samoa, and losing both matches against New Zealand.
Canada
- U18 WSWC Appearances: 13
- Highest finish: 3rd (2019)
- 2021 finish: N/A
- World Ranking: No. 5
Same as Australia, Canada has only missed one edition of this event: the 2021 World Cup in Lima, right after the pandemic. In spite of finishing in the top-10 the first 12 editions of this event (including seven top-fives), they failed to win a medal until 2019 when they defeated Australia, 5-4, in the bronze medal game.
Canada qualified for this event as second place in the Americas Qualifier. They lost the final against Puerto Rico in a thrilling 2-1 game in extra innings.
Ireland
- U18 WSWC Appearances: 2
- Highest finish: 14th (2019)
- 2021 finish: N/A
- World Ranking: No. 21
Ireland will make their third appearance in the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup, returning to the event after five years of absence. The Irish squad played back to back tournaments in 2017 and 2019, finishing 18th and 14th respectively. Their overall record in this event is 5-9.
Ireland qualified for this event as the 2023 European Championship third place. In the bronze medal game, they stunned Netherlands, 7-6 in extra innings, to reach the podium and clinch a ticket to the World Cup.
Mexico
- U18 WSWC Appearances: 8
- Highest finish: 4th (2021)
- 2021 finish: 4th
- World Ranking: No. 8
Mexico will make their sixth consecutive appearance in the competition, their longest streak ever in this age bracket. They return to the event after a fourth-place finish in Lima 2021, their best result ever. In that competition, the Mexicans lost the bronze medal game against Puerto Rico, 4-0, at Villa Maria del Triunfo softball stadium. This was their second top-five finish, after being fifth in Oklahoma City 2015.
The Mexicans earned their ticket to the World Cup after being bronze medallists at the Americas Qualifier. They beat Brazil in the bronze medal game, 3-0, to clinch their second consecutive medal in this competition.
Philippines
- U18 WSWC Appearances: 4
- Highest finish: 9th (2003)
- 2021 finish: N/A
- World Ranking: No. 16
Philippines make their return to this competition after seven years. Their last participation was in 2017 when they finished in 10th place. Before that, their previous appearance was in Nanjing 2003, claiming the ninth place in the event. This is their best finish ever. Their previous two participations were in 1991 and 1995.
Philippines finished fourth in the Asia Qualifier, losing to China the bronze medal game, 6-1.
USA
- U18 WSWC Appearances: 14
- Highest finish: 1st (1987, 1995, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021)
- 2021 finish: World Champions
- World Ranking: No. 1
USA is the most decorated nation in the history of the event. They have won a medal in all 14 previous World Cups, including the World Title in the last four editions of this event, and six of the last seven. Their winning streak started in Oklahoma City in 2015 (nine games), and continued in Clearwater 2017 (nine), Irvine 2019 (10) and Lima 2021 (eight), the last one in a 1-0 drama over Chinese Taipei. Currently, USA is riding a 36-game winning streak, going undefeated in the last four World Cups. They lost for the last time in the World Championship Final in 2013 with Japan earning the Gold medal following a 4-0 win over the United States after the game was called after six innings due to rain.
USA qualified for this event as host team.