After going down to Spain on Saturday in the qualification tournament, the nation is the second team to qualify for the WBC from Regensburg, following Great Britain’s win over the same opponents.

Martin Schneider was the star of the show for Czech Republic.

The right-hander pitched 6 1/3 and struck out five batters.

In the offence, Martin Muzik helped with a two-run home run with Marek Chlup chipping in.

Chlup played his part in defence too, with a throw out of Edison Valeiro during the seventh innings proving to be crucial.

Meanwhile, it was a disappointing campaign for Spain, who were billed favourites to qualify.

A narrow win against South Africa in the opener was followed by a routing of the Czechs on Saturday.

However, the went down to Britain yesterday before today’s loss.

The 2023 WBC is set to start on March 8, with a qualification tournament in Panama starting next week.