WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup: Japan, China and Puerto Rico join Chinese Taipei and Czechia in Finals 2025

World No. 2 Japan and No. 11 China advanced to the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup Finals 2025, finishing first and second in the Group B tournament, which finished in Pingtan, China on Sunday. They became the third and fourth teams participating in the Finals after No. 4 Chinese Taipei and No. 10 Czechia punched their ticket in Group A last month.

No. 3 Puerto Rico finished third in Pingtan and earned one of the two Wild Card Spots, becoming the fifth finalist.

Inclement weather plagued the Group B tournament. The first day was entirely rained out, and a number of games were postponed. All games since Game 7 were played over five innings, while the tournament schedule only allowed for the Opening Round to be completed.

Despite that, Japan dominated Group B, outscoring their opponents 49-3.

Centre fielder Yuwa Shiota earned Group B Most Outstanding Player honours, going 8-for-14 with four RBIs in four games, with a .571 batting average and a .647 on-base percentage.

China earned key wins against No. 6 Netherlands (3-0), No. 3 Puerto Rico (3-1) and No. 7 Italy (1-0). Yuyan Duan and Menghuan Zhou showcased dominant pitching in these games, but they couldn't stop Japan's bats on the final day's head-to-head.

Puerto Rico finished third with a 3-2 record, besting Group A's third-place team, No. 34 New Zealand (3-4), thus earning one of two Wild Card tickets.

Group C is scheduled from August 29 to September 2 in Dallas, Texas, USA.

World No. 1 USA will host No. 5 Canada, No. 8 Mexico, No. 9 Australia, No. 16 Philippines and No. 21 Ireland. The top two finishers will advance to the finals.

Dallas will also host the Finals 2025. Eight teams, including two Wild Cards, will participate in the tournament.