Day 3 Preview: WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup Osaka
OSAKA, Japan – The XXVII WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2015 moves into the all-pivotal Day 3 in Osaka.
The winner between Americas rivals Mexico and the United States, both 1-1, will build on more solid footing to finish among the top three in Group A, particularly as undefeated Australia and Japan will face off Sunday.
There will be another match-up between two undefeated nations, when world No. 3 Cuba and world No. 8 South Korea collide.
Either Brazil or the Czech Republic will get their first win -- for the Czech National Team, it would be a historic first victory at the U-18 Baseball World Cup and also give Europe the continent’s first win on the world stage in Osaka.
GROUP A
United States vs. Mexico
United States and Mexico met twice at the 2006 U-18 Baseball World Cup with Mexico winning 3-0 in the group stage, before USA claimed an 8-2 win in the semifinals.
Two years later, USA defeated Mexico again, beating them 2-0 in the group stage, before they went on to reach the final.
Mexico has since gone on to win only two of their last eight games against teams from the Americas after the 3-0 win over USA in 2006.
Brazil vs. Czech Republic
Brazil and the Czech Republic have not met in any of the last five editions.
Since 2006, the Czech National Team has not won any of their previous twelve games on the U-18 Baseball World Cup stage against a representative from the Americas, and fell to Canada, Mexico and Venezuela at the 2013 U-18 Baseball World Cup.
Australia vs. Japan
Australia and Japan have not met in any of the last five editions of the U-18 Baseball World Cup.
Australia have a 2-5 record against nations out of Asia since 2006, including an 8-4 loss to Chinese Taipei in the 2010 world championship finale.
Australia’s two wins came against South Korea, in 2006 and in the 2010 quarterfinals.
GROUP B
South Korea vs. Cuba
Cuba won their last U-18 Baseball World Cup encounter against South Korea 2-1 in 2013, despite being outhit by South Korea three hits to seven.
South Korea had won the previous two clashes with Cuba at the U-18 Baseball World Cup. They won 6-1 in the 2008 semifinals en route to winning the U-18 world championship trophy and they won 5-3 in 2010.
South Korea lost two games in their 2006 gold medal winning campaign. One of these defeats was the 8-4 loss against Cuba.
South Africa vs. Chinese Taipei
South Africa did not face Chinese Taipei when they previously participated at the U-18 Baseball World Cup in 2006.
In 2006, South Africa lost 9-0 against South Korea, the only Asian team they played against that year. Korea won the tournament that year.
This is Chinese Taipei's first game against an African National Team at the U-18 Baseball World Cup in recent years.
Canada vs. Italy
Canada have won their last four games against Italy at the U-18 Baseball World Cup, including an 11-1 win in the 2010 quarterfinals.
The two teams last met at the U-18 Baseball World Cup in 2012, when Canada escaped with a 4-3 win, delivering two runs in the ninth inning..
Canada have won their last 10 U-18 Baseball World Cup games against European teams.
Italy has had limited success against nations from the Americans, registering an 8-6 win against Mexico in 2006 and a 6-5 result against Venezuela in 2010.
