On the morning of August 22, the "Good Luck Beijing" 2007 International Baseball Tournament had its first semifinal after taking a one-day rest. The French team, which suffered three losses in a row in the round robin, failed to reach the finals by losing to Japan 9-4.

After the competition, the chief coach Robert Zeilstra Jefferson said that a bad start led to the failure of his team.

Robert said, "We were in a passive position at the start of the competition, losing one point after another to Japan, especially in the fourth inning, when four points were lost. Although we fought back and won 4 points in the eighth inning, it was too little and too late to turn the table. The Japanese team is very strong indeed. I hope that we can learn from them and put up a better performance tomorrow."

The No. 10 pitcher Samuel Meurant commented: "Basically we were not accustomed to the quick rhythm of the Japanese team, whose pitchers throw very fast. We are simply not used to that. By the time we finally got used to, it was already too late."

Regarding the third decider slated for tomorrow, Robert said, "I always stress that we come here not for the result but for the process. No matter who are our opponents, we will try our best, because it is a good opportunity to prepare for the up-coming European championships in September."

Zeilstra was quoted as saying that "Baseball isn't very popular in France for the simple reason that the French are just too crazy about football and rugby!"