(WBC) Australia manager expects 'very tight battle' vs. S. Korea

▲ Australia manager David Nilsson speaks at a press conference before the start of the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 8, 2023. (Yonhap)

▲ Members of the Australian team for the World Baseball Classic pose for a group photo at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 8, 2023. (Yonhap)

(WBC) Australia manager-S Korea

(WBC) Australia manager expects 'very tight battle' vs. S. Korea

By Yoo Jee-ho

TOKYO, March 8 (Yonhap) -- On the eve of his team's first World Baseball Classic (WBC) game against South Korea in Tokyo, Australia manager David Nilsson said Wednesday he was anticipating a tight affair.

"Team Korea is a very solid team. They're very well prepared. They have very good athletes and good pitching so I expect (it) to be a very tight battle and very close game," Nilsson said at a pretournament press conference at Tokyo Dome. "I expect to see some very good pitching."

Australia, having lost eight straight games to South Korea, will be an underdog in the Pool B contest, beginning at noon Thursday at Tokyo Dome. But Nilsson said his team is determined to fight the good fight.

"I just want to let you know that Team Australia is very well prepared and we're very honored to be here part of the World Baseball Classic," he said. "We're looking forward to playing against some great international competition. And I think we're going to perform very well and I hope you enjoy watching us play."

Nilsson declined to single out any individual Korean player, saying he wants his team to focus on the entire team, not any one player or two.

"We look at every player on the Korean team and we've noticed there's quite a few good position players, and of course, some great quality pitching," Nilsson said. "I don't like to identify one person because we need to prepare to play against the whole team and treat every player as important as the next one."

Besides South Korea, Australia will also face Japan, China and the Czech Republic. With Japan, world No. 1, seen as the clear favorite, Australia and South Korea are expected to duke it out for the second ticket to the quarterfinals out of Pool B.

Winning as many games as possible is paramount, but Nilsson wasn't looking beyond the opening game.

"The most important game is the one that you're preparing for. And tomorrow, we play against South Korea and that is the most important game for us right now," he said. "When that game finishes, we'll look to the next game. As boring as it sounds, one game at a time. It's even less than that. It's just one pitch at a time for us. So all of our attention right now, every bit of our preparation, has been around preparing for South Korea."

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