The United States and Canada will clash in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Baseball Classic on Friday night at Daikin Park in Houston. This matchup extends the intense rivalry seen in recent Olympic hockey finals, where the U.S. claimed gold in both men's and women's events against Canada. Jack Hughes, hero of the men's hockey victory, has sent a motivational message to Team USA baseball.
HOUSTON -- The upcoming quarterfinal between Team USA and Team Canada in the 2026 World Baseball Classic carries echoes of the heated Olympic hockey rivalry from Milan last month. In those finals, the U.S. secured gold medals in both the men's and women's competitions, with Jack Hughes scoring the overtime winner in the men's game against Canada—the country's first such triumph since 1980.
At the time, members of the U.S. baseball team were in Spring Training camps. Kyle Schwarber, now with Team USA, recalled watching the hockey game during an interview with Japanese media. "I was actually doing an interview with some Japanese media on the bench, and they had the game on the big board," Schwarber said. "They scored the goal, and I’m jumping up and down while still answering questions. You could relate to how much it meant to them, how much work they put in for that moment."
Hughes, center for the NHL's New Jersey Devils, shares an agent with U.S. center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and recently sent a video pump-up speech that's circulating in the baseball team's group chat. Additionally, the men's hockey team is shipping game-worn jerseys to their baseball counterparts, whom Team USA plans to wear on the bus to Friday's game at Daikin Park (8 p.m. ET, FOX).
"This is my first time playing for a national team, for a country," said U.S. starter Logan Webb. "You have rivals during the season, but I don't think it matches up to anything like this. It’s going to be crazy [Friday]."
For Canada, the losses sting. Starter Michael Soroka noted the grief in clubhouses post-hockey defeat: "We all took a lot [of grief] in the clubhouses during that game, the day after especially." He added, "It would be nice [to get revenge]. But we’re not chasing results, we’re not chasing a story. We’re just going to go out there and play our brand of baseball and let everything fall as they may."
The U.S. has dominated recent WBC encounters, winning the last four, including a 12-1 victory in 2023. This rivalry has also flavored past MLB action, like the enthralling World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. As Schwarber reflected on the hockey intensity, "I just remember when the puck dropped and then seeing all those guys skating, it looked like they were skating for their lives, not just the USA and Canada." He concluded, "Now it’s time for us to go."
