USA clinch spot in 2026 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup after Americas Qualifier victory

The stage is set for the 2026 ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, with all 16 teams confirmed for the marquee tournament in Zimbabwe and Namibia next year. The United States of America (USA) clinched the final spot, sealing their place in cricket’s biggest global tournament for the emerging players.

The USA U19 team have secured their fourth-ever qualification for the ICC Men’s U19 World Cup. They will make a second consecutive appearance after winning the 2025 ICC Americas Men’s U19 Qualifier. They secured the title with a nine-wicket victory over Argentina at the Param Veers Sports Complex on Friday.

USA Clinches Spot in 2026 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup

The USA, led by wicketkeeper-batter Arjun Mahesh, dominated the double round-robin Qualifier in Rydal, Georgia. They sealed a spot in the 2026 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup with one game left to play against Canada on 16 August.

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They opened their campaign with a 65-run win over Canada, followed by victories against Bermuda and Argentina. The hosts crushed Bermuda for the second time before the match against Argentina.

New York legspinner Sahir Bhatia picked up 5 wickets for 9 runs as Argentina were bowled out for just 34 runs. The USA secured 10 points after the nine-wicket win over Argentina. They will join 12 Test nations and fellow Associate teams, Scotland, Japan, and Tanzani,a for the 2026 World Cup.

Worked Really Hard in This Cycle to Prepare Our Boys for This Moment - Arjun Mahesh

USA U19 captain Arjun Mahesh expressed his excitement after the team secured a spot in the 2026 U19 World Cup. He said that the players are eager to showcase their talent on the global stage.

“Obviously a great feeling. It’s very exciting times for us. We’ve had good preparation before this tournament. We’ve had a tournament in South Africa and we had a tournament in St. Kitts," Arjun Mahesh said,

"So we’ve worked really hard in this cycle to prepare our boys for this moment and finally we’ve achieved it. So it’s going to be exciting for us to prepare well for the upcoming World Cup and we hope to showcase our talent there."

ICC U19 World Cup 2026 Line-Up Finalized with 16 Teams

The ICC U19 World Cup will feature 16 teams, with the top 10 from the 2024 edition securing automatic qualification, alongside Full Member host Zimbabwe. Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and the West Indies secured qualification.

The remaining five spots were decided through regional qualifiers. Tanzania qualified from Africa, the USA from the Americas, Afghanistan from Asia, Japan from East Asia-Pacific, and Scotland from Europe.

Scotland will make its seventh appearance in the last eight U19 World Cup cycles, maintaining its strong presence in the tournament. Afghanistan edged out Nepal on net run rate after their final round-robin match was washed out.

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