Miami to host next year’s World Baseball Classic final

NEW YORK  — The Miami Marlins will host the semifinals and final of next year’s World Baseball Classic, which will be played for the first time since 2017.

The tournament will start March 8 and end March 21 at loanDepot park, Major League Baseball and the players’ association said Thursday. The field will expand from 16 teams to 20, with the top two nations from each of four five-team groups advancing from the first round. The top two teams in each quarterfinal group move on to the championship round.

First-round games will take place at Intercontinental Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan; the Tokyo Dome in Japan; Chase Field in Phoenix; and in Miami.

The 16 nations from the 2017 tournament, won by the U.S., will be included along with four teams to emerge from qualifying to take place at Armin-Wolf-Arena in Regensburg, Germany (Sept. 16-21) and Rod Carew National Stadium in Panama City, Panama (Sept. 30-Oct. 5). Each group will have one qualifier.

Here are the dates and participating teams:

• Group A (Taichung, March 8-13) — Cuba, Italy, Netherlands, Taiwan.
• Group B (Tokyo, March 9-13) — Australia, China, Japan, South Korea.
• Group C (Phoenix, March 11-15) — Canada, Colombia, Mexico, United States.
• Group D (Miami, March 11-15) — Dominican Republic, Israel, Puerto Rico Venezuela.
• Quarterfinals (Tokyo, March 15-16; Miami, March 17-18).
• Semifinals and Final (Miami, March 19-21).