Cuba advances to the final of the I Baseball5 Youth World Cup after beating Chinese Taipei 2-0

A gold medal will be on the line for the Cubans when they face France on Sunday

Cuba and France booked their spots in the final of the Youth Baseball5 World Cup in Ankara, Türkiye after the first day’s play of the Super Round on Friday. Mexico and Türkiye also confirmed their place in the bronze medal game.

In another superb day of Baseball5 action, the day's most anticipated match between France and Cuba lived up to its billing as the two unbeaten teams went head to head before Cuba ran out 11-1, 7-4 winners.

The two will have a much-anticipated rematch in the final on Sunday due to Cuba’s 4-0, 3-0 defeat of Chinese Taipei in their second match of the day and France’s come-from-behind 2-4, 3-1, 4-2 win over home team Türkiye.

Despite their loss to France, a 6-3, 4-0 win over Mexico earlier in the day was enough for Türkiye to secure a rematch with the Central Americans in the bronze medal game on Sunday. Mexico defeated China 6-3, 5-4 to clinch their spot to contest for the tournament’s bronze medal.

The other Super Round match saw China beat Chinese Taipei 6-0, 8-5.

Meanwhile, Ghana lead the standings in the Placement Round after beating Tunisia 12-1, 4-1 followed by a 5-2, 8-1 win over Malaysia, who had earlier beaten Australia 7-1, 6-4 for their first win over the tournament.

Australia also clinched their opening victory in Ankara with an entertaining 4-2, 1-9, 8-4 win over Zambia.

Korea also collected a 11-1, 3-4, 7-1 win over Zambia, followed by a 1-6, 10-0, 9-4 loss to Tunisia.

The last day of the Super and Placement Rounds takes place on Saturday, starting off with a Super Round match between France and China.