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The American team will have its opponent for the final of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) on Tuesday evening.
Venezuela ended Italy’s magical WBC run on Monday night, coming from behind to defeat them, 4-2 at LoanDepot Park, moving up a spot. in the final against the United States.
Italy was the surprise team of the tournament, beating the United States in pool play before beating Mexico to finish a perfect 4-0 in Pool B.
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Eugenio Suárez of Team Venezuela celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against Team Italy during the fourth inning at LoanDepot Park on March 16, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
But that win over Mexico also kept Team USA alive in the tournament, allowing them to advance to the quarterfinals, where they beat Canada before scoring a thrilling 2-1 semifinal victory over the Dominican Republic on Sunday night to punch their ticket to the final.
While it seemed fitting that the United States and Italy would meet once again to determine who would win it all before the start of the 2026 MLB season, Venezuela had something else on its mind in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Trailing 2-1 in the contest, Venezuela found itself threatened with a possible two-out rally after Jackson Chourio, the Milwaukee Brewers’ rising star, hit a single to center field, allowing Andres Gimenez to advance to third base.
That’s when Ronald Acuña Jr., the face of Venezuelan baseball, reached first on an infield single that allowed Gimenez to score, tying the game at two apiece. But the gathering was not yet over.
The Venezuelans caught fire after Acuña’s single, as Maikel Garcia hit a single to left field, scoring Chourio, and Luis Arraez brought Acuña home. With two outs, Venezuela seized all the momentum with a three-run seventh inning that made it 4-2.
Italy clung to the lead from the bottom of the second set, as they took advantage of a bases-loaded situation. JJ D’Orazio scored a point, while Dante Nori hit a fielder’s pick that scored another to give Italy a 2-0 lead.
Slugger Eugenio Suarez got Venezuela on the board in the top of the fourth inning with a solo homer to left-center field, cutting the deficit to one. But they weren’t able to string together any more offense until the seventh inning.
From there, Italy was never able to get a rally going, as Daniel Palencia finally closed the door in the ninth inning, striking out the final two Italian batters.
While Venezuela celebrated, Italy hung their heads, but their story this month has been nothing short of incredible. Their espresso machine in the dugout — which Kansas City Royals captain Vinnie Pasquantino helped turn into a home run celebration — went viral as they continued to have success. The roster included established MLB stars, high-profile prospects and players of Italian descent, earning praise from big leaguers over the past two weeks.
But it was Venezuela, loaded with MLB’s best talent, ready to take on Team USA and starter Nolan McLean, that Italy tweaked in its pool match Tuesday night to determine who holds the right to call itself the best baseball team in the world for at least the next three years.
Team USA and Venezuela will face off at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
