With this 3rd place finish, only one team stood in the way of the French women’s victory in the Baseball5 World Cup. Cuba won, and they’re the only team to have won all their matches. They dominate this discipline, and it’s no surprise since the Cubans were the first to bring it to light. The French, alongside the Venezuelans, Chinese, and Japanese, form the rear guard behind the dominant Cuban team.
The French team started the tournament strong, especially with their victory against China, but Venezuela, whom they later defeated, prevented them from reaching the final in an extremely close match. This World Cup reflects the maturity of this discipline today and, above all, highlights our French team, with the hope that national media will cover this 3rd place finish.
It’s likely that in the future, the Olympics will embrace this discipline. This will already be the case for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal. For France, this will be an opportunity to return with a medal. Victories are piling up at both the junior and senior levels, nationally, European, and now globally. The national technical director is skillfully managing the young generation, helping them succeed in this unique yet baseball-like sport. However, it will be necessary for the French public to get behind it. In the long run, this sport, a fantastic gateway to traditional baseball, must take over our clubs and our republic’s schools. The upcoming European Junior Championship, to be held in Clermont-Ferrand, must gain momentum in terms of public attendance and broadcasts.
Today, the captain of the French team, Omar Diodène, is an undisputed leader who started his career in Cuba. France will need to find other players of his caliber to remain in the world’s top three. Let’s hear his impressions after this magnificent result, of which he is not the sole architect, surrounded by his team composed of the players below.
BTVF: Hong Kong, far, beautiful, and so different. How was the reception?
The reception was wonderfully organized by the locals. We had the opportunity to go up the tallest tower in Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (the stock exchange), where we saw a panoramic view of the city: it was magnificent, with all those skyscrapers. Adapting to the time difference was not easy, given that we arrived only two days before the competition.
BTVF: The competition starts well, then a tough match against China and a loss against Venezuela. How did the team handle this difficulty?
Defeat is part of the game. We knew we would face teams with a very high level. We bounced back from our losses and relied on our collective strengths.
BTVF: A true revenge victory against Venezuela to secure the bronze. How did the team regroup after the loss to Cuba?
The loss to Cuba was mentally tough, but that match didn’t matter for our standings. We changed our tactics, which hadn’t worked against Cuba, and we went back more focused against Venezuela to claim this bronze medal, which really made us happy and rewards the teamwork we’ve done all week during the competition.
BTVF: How to stay at the top globally for the future?
We’ll keep working hard, week by week and month by month, to raise the level of Baseball5 in France and win more international medals, organize national championships. This will be great and motivating for French baseball clubs to practice this beautiful discipline. Now, we focus on the European Junior Championship in Clermont to secure a spot for the 2026 World Championship in Mexico, and this will give us points for the world rankings.
Photo credits: WBSC
