There's been plenty of anticipation and finally the XXX WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup is here. Having originally been scheduled for 2021 before being postponed due to the COVID pandemic, one of the WBSC's premier baseball events is now set to start on Friday with the pre-tournament press conference having taken place on Thursday.
"We are excited for an incredible slate of elite competition with 50 games over the next 10 days at LECOM Park in Bradenton and Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, as the world's top youth players have travelled to Florida to compete For the Title of World Champion," said sportscaster George Grande, the host of the press conference.
Grande, who hosted the first broadcast of SportsCenter on ESPN in 1979, emphasized the importance of holding the tournament in Florida, a State that has been a key to baseball development in the United States before WBSC Vice President Willi Kaltschmitt added: "The U-18 Baseball World Cup, like our sport itself, was born in the United States," Kaltschmitt said. "The first three editions of this tournament were played on American soil in 1981, 1982 and 1983. Four decades later, we can say that baseball is more global than ever and that this event is one of the biggest youth World Cups in all sports."
World No. 2 Chinese Taipei is the defending U-18 World Champion from 2019 having also claimed the title in 2010 and 1983. "I wouldn't tell my players we are here to defend our title," said manager Tsung Chih Chou. "They must take the field to play their best baseball, game by game."
Chinese Taipei has been training for two months and got to the US early to play friendlies against the US, Canada and Australia. In the 2019 final Chinese Taipei defeated World No. 5 and nine-time champions the United States.
Manager Denny Hocking said that he started preparation with a group of 100 players. "I'm super excited," said the former Major League Baseball (MLB) player. "It is an incredible honour to host the tournament."
Hocking added: "I spent a big part of my playing career in Florida, and I can tell you every team will be blessed by the hospitality of these people."
The US - the only team to compete in all previous 29 editions of the tournament and have won the most medals with 26 including four titles in a row from 2012-2017 - will compete in Group A and is likely to face Chinese Taipei in the Super Round
World No. 1 Japan is in Group B and will play Chinese Taipei in group play. "We have never won a U-18 World Cup," said manager Shiro Mabuchi. "This time, we're really trying to finish in first place."
Mabuchi added: "We selected our team not only looking at the Koshien tournament. High school baseball is very competitive in Japan. There are 3,200 teams, and 49 participate in the Koshien tournament. I think we selected the 20 best players."
No. 17 Italy will face Japan on the opening day. "I can't say we are scared," said manager Francesco Aluffi. "For sure, we respect their talent a lot. We started our preparation in March and are ready to play."
World No. 4 Mexico is also in Florida to win. "I think all players are ready," said manager José Reyes. "It was difficult to get them together since most play in the United States. We have worked as a team only for seven days, but I think we have the talent to compete for the title."
No. 10 Australia came to the US early to play warm-up games. "It was a great experience getting here early," said manager Andrew Kyle. "We started with 60 players and have been working to finalize our 20-man roster."
World No. 8 Netherlands will play their first game of the tournament against the US. They aim at a spot in the Super Round and improving on their best ever result (6th), which they have achieved three times in 2010, 1994 and 1993. "We participated in the European Championship in August," said manager Eric De Bruin. "We made eight changes to the roster, and we feel we can compete."
Five-time champions and World No. 3 Korea will have the honour of opening the tournament with a Group A game against Canada at LECOM Park, Bradenton at 11:00 (local time). "We didn't have much time to train together," said manager Jae-ho Choi. "We will try our best, and I believe we can compete."
World No. 12 Canada has hosted the U-18 World Cup a record 13 times, claiming the title once on home soil in 1991 in Brandon. "We started with 40 players, and it's been a good journey," commented veteran manager Greg Hamilton. "We are excited to be here and want to compete."
No. 26 South Africa, who has participated in this event seven times previously with a best-ever finish of 8th in 1999, has also gone through a long selection process. "It's a great honour to be here," said coach Mogamat Moosa, who represented manager Dean McKinok. "We started our selection process with 40 players. We got together three days before flying to the US."
An update to the tournament schedule was announced at the press conference with Game 2 between Chinese Taipei and Panama scheduled for Friday (9th of September) being moved to the rest day on the 14th of September due to the delay of the arrival of the Panama national team.
