The French team missed the playoffs of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international competition played by MLB professionals. The Blues clearly defeated Great Britain (14:4) on Friday in Regensburg (Germany), which is hosting one of the qualifying tournaments.
After five rounds, the French, coached by Bruce Bochy, the former coach of the three-time World Series winner San Francisco Giants, led only 5-3. But then they fell apart and conceded nine runs in three sets. Great Britain will face Germany in the semi-finals on Saturday, while Spain, which defeated South Africa (5:4), will face the Czech Republic. The winner of Tuesday’s final will qualify for the WBC finals.
France has not lost all hope of securing a second qualification ticket. On Sunday, they will face the loser of the Spain-Czech Republic match (and South Africa against the loser of Germany-Great Britain) in the play-off. The winner of the play-off and the loser of the final will meet on Wednesday. Whoever wins will also go to the World Baseball Classic.