Mexico is headed to the Baseball World Cup quarter-finals after an administrative error robbed Panama of a final eight berth.
Panama was set to face Cuba in the quarter-finals today, but International Baseball Federation officials discovered that seven members of the Panamanian team failed to take out the required insurance before their first group stage game against Spain and handed it a loss in that game late on Wednesday night.
That was enough to put Group A fifth-place finisher Mexico ahead of Panama in the standings and earn it a ticket for today's quarter-final against the Cubans.
In the other quarter-finals, host Taiwan play against the Netherlands, Australia are paired with Japan and the USA will play South Korea.
Teams had a day off yesterday at the conclusion of the group stage. The semi-finals are scheduled to be played tomorrow, with the tournament final to be played on Sunday.
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