WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL B - BRAZIL VS GREAT BRITAIN

March 9, 2026

Daniel Yuichi Matsumoto

Daikin Park

Team Brazil

Postgame Press Conference

Great Britain - 8, Brazil - 1

Q. What do the next four years of Brazilian baseball look like? What is the plan to get back through the qualifiers and get back to the next WBC?

DANIEL YUICHI MATSUMOTO: Honestly, I don't know much about our future. That's more like a federation decision. But I just hope that Brazil, in general, the level of our players grows up and improves, because even if we qualify, once we get here, the level of play, the baseball here is so much higher than what we are used to.

So we don't know exactly what's going to be next for the Brazilian Federation as in planning. But I just wish them the best. And I'm hoping that the Brazilian baseball get better from this point on.

Q. You guys were coming into this tournament with a lot of momentum. You won three consecutive games in Tucson one year ago to qualify for this tournament. How disappointing is it to see that momentum stopped cold like it was in this tournament?

DANIEL YUICHI MATSUMOTO: We had a good preparation in Brazil before coming here. Like, for two weeks we did this training camp, and it was really good. And even after arriving here, all the games, like in the first half of all the games, we played a good baseball game. At some point, you know, things didn't go as we planned.

But all the players did their best, and I take full responsibility for everything that didn't go as planned.

Q. Did you have a message for your team now that the games are over? And what would you like the players to take away from their experience here?

DANIEL YUICHI MATSUMOTO: I just wish all the best for the players who will still be playing for the Brazilian National Team. It's really hard for me to make any assessment at this point because we just finished the game, but I hope all the best for all the players.

Q. Do you have a message for the fans in Brazil who followed this team through this tournament and have picked up baseball that way? Do you have a message for them?

DANIEL YUICHI MATSUMOTO: We are aware that, through social media streaming, a lot of people have been watching our games. And I just want to apologize for them that we could not answer in the way expected.

But I think if we keep trying good results will come out.

Q. Daniel, I do want to also recognize that this is a big feat for Brazil to make it to the World Baseball Classic, the world championship for our sport. Congratulations on that. You played in the 2013 WBC. Who were the leaders on that team? And what did you draw from that experience to instill into this team?

DANIEL YUICHI MATSUMOTO: Almost our entire coaching staff, we were players from the 2013 edition of the World Baseball Classic. And I think what we tried to pass to the players, the current players, is more, like, how to control emotionally on the field because it's not easy to play against big names and superstars that we watch on TV all the time. So we advise them regarding this emotional control they should have once the game starts.