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WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup: Group B going to be a battle

WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup: Group B going to be a battle
22/09/2021
Every manager in Group B showed confidence in their rosters. The top three teams from each group will advance to the Super Round.

The competition is going to be strong in Group B of the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup, which opens Thursday. All six participating teams in Group B are aiming for a spot in the Super Round.

World No. 2 Korea looks like a natural favorite: "Our roster is a good mix," commented manager Tae-ho Park. "We have nine college players, 4 high school players and the rest are pros. We want to get to the Super Round first, and then we will do our best to make the final."

Korea made the bronze medal game in the first two editions of the U-23 Baseball World Cup.
"I don't think we can make a comparison. There are different players and also another manager," added Park.

Some see world No. 14 Nicaragua, the reigning Pan American U-23 Champion, as the strongest opponent: "We have a competitive team," commented manager Sandor Guido. "The roster features a lot of the best young players in our domestic league, and we have been together for seven months. We first need to get to the Super Round, then we'll see. We are facing powerful teams, so my goal is to play hard; think of every game as the last one."

"This is my first World Cup," said Venezuela's manager Carlos Garcia. "I am going to enjoy it as if it were my last."

World No. 10 Venezuela has high aims: "Most of our players play in the US minor leagues, we have some talent. We will do the best we can and hopefully it will be enough to take us to the final."

Why do they nickname you El Almirante (The Admiral)? "I'm not sure who came up with this nickname, but it does show a lot of respect."

The manager of world No. 8 Netherlands, Sydney De Jong, knows how to win. He was one of the leaders on the Netherlands team that won the Baseball World Cup in 2011.
"We hope to make it to the next round. I'm excited, and my players are. We have a roster that combines a lot of different baseball cultures. We have pro players, collegiate players and guys who play in our top league in the Netherlands."

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"It's an honour to be here," said Colombia's manager Jose Mosquera. "We have 50% of the roster made of players under contract with MLB organisations. It was hard to get permission for the pitchers."

Mosquera doesn't think Colombia is amongst the favourites.
"We are aware of the strength of the teams we are facing. We are ranked No. 15; every other programme in this group ranks better. We will go day by day, trying to show how good baseball in Colombia is."

Panama's Cristobal Giron was the last manager to join the virtual press conference.
"We put together a team that can master the small ball. We are going to be an aggressive running team. Of course, we are aiming for the Super Round. Every National Team participating in a World Cup has that goal."