Ryu Ji-hyun's debut match against Japan. A warm-up match will be held at Tokyo Dome in Korea and Japan on November 15 and 16
Apr 17, 2025
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KBO and NPB (Japan Baseball Organization) announced the hosting of the Korea-Japan national team warm-up match at 1:30 p.m. on the 17th at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo, attended by KBO President Heo Gu-yeon, Korean national team coach Ryu Ji-hyun, NPB President Sakakibara Sadayuki and Japanese national team coach Hirokazu Ibata.
The two-day warm-up match, which will be held at Tokyo Dome in Japan on November 15 (Sat) and 16 (Sun), is the first warm-up match between the national teams of professional players from both countries.
The warm-up match was made with the will of the two league secretariat, which provides baseball-thirsty fans after the end of the postseason and needs a stage to check the skills and conditions of players who are likely to join the national team ahead of their participation in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March 2026.
KBO announced in July 2023 that it plans to strengthen the national team's power by holding continuous exchanges with overseas teams through the 'KBO League and Team Korea Level-Up Project'. In addition, 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan.
The national team will play in Group C against Japan, Taiwan, Australia and the Czech Republic in the first round of the WBC, which will be held at Tokyo Dome in March next year. Therefore, this warm-up match is expected to be an important warm-up match to explore each other's power in advance ahead of the real sword match in the main competition.
Ryu Ji-hyun, who was appointed as the national team coach in January, will make his international debut. Coach Ryu Ji-hyun plans to check and supplement domestic players through two warm-up matches, refer them to the selection of players for the WBC national team, and focus on analyzing the power of the Japanese national team.
Coach Ryu said in a press conference, `It is my first international debut game since I took the helm of the national team. "I stood with a trembling heart to make my debut with the Japanese national team at the Tokyo Dome, which is called the heart of Japanese baseball," he said. "This warm-up match is a very important game to be played three months before the WBC tournament in March next year. I think it's a meaningful game to check the condition of the national team players and select the final entry, and it's a very important opportunity to analyze the power of the Japanese national team."
Then "I've seen the Japanese national team in person for years as a coach at APBC, WBC, Premier 12, etc. I think it's a very strong team that combines detail and power"The Japanese national team is a tricky and difficult opponent. I will prepare to perform well in the warm-up match and the WBC by forming the best players."
Hirokazu Ibata, manager of the Japanese national team, said "It is an important match because it will be held ahead of next year's WBC. You can prepare for competition rules such as pitch clock. It is a good opportunity to see up close how much the players who will make the national team have grown up. "The Korean team is a difficult team, including APBC and Premier 12 in 2023. Both pitching and hitting have power. It's a warm-up match, but I'll do my best to win," he said, expressing his will to win.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
