The winning streak continues for France’s Junior teams. After the 15U and 23U baseball squads delivered impressive results, it’s now the turn of the U18 baseball5 team. Their world ranking (2nd) is no fluke. This World Cup was exactly what they needed to truly experience, understand, and feel their potential.
The French team kicked off their pool stage in the best possible way, topping Group B with a perfect record. It’s not like they faced only weaker opponents. Sure, Australia and Ghana might have been easier matchups, but Taiwan, Mexico, and South Korea certainly weren’t pushovers.
Every victory was hard-earned. Watching their games, you notice how their strategies—mixing aggressive and patient plays, varying speeds, and seizing opportunities to steal bases—paid off. The ‘service,’ as it should be called (the act of putting the ball in play), is crucial. Other teams often show weaknesses and inconsistency in this pivotal moment of the game.
In the other pool, Cuba (the top-ranked team) is on a similar run. Three more matches will determine the final four. Each group winner (France and Cuba) will face the top three from the opposite pool. There’s everything to play for. We can reasonably expect France to reach the semifinals, but it will take energy and perhaps a bit of audacity. Today’s matches against Cuba and Turkey will give us a better sense of France’s true chances of lifting this World Cup trophy.
The young French squad, guided by Eliot Fleys, Thierry Raphet, Stephen Lesfargues, and Coach Lahcheme Benhamida.
