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Team USA has its opponent for the finals of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) on Tuesday night.
Venezuela ended Italy’s magical run in the WBC on Monday night, coming from behind to defeat them 4-2 at CreditDepot Park, earning themselves a spot. in the final against the United States.
Italy was the surprise team of the tournament, defeating the United States in the group before defeating Mexico to finish a perfect 4-0 in Group B.
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Eugenio Suárez of Team Venezuela celebrates while rounding the bases after hitting a solo home run against Team Italy in the fourth inning at CreditDepot 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 defeated Canada before earning a thrilling 2-1 semifinal victory over the Dominican Republic on Sunday night to secure their ticket back to the finals.
While it seemed right for the United States and Italy to meet once again to determine who would win it all before the start of the 2026 MLB season, Venezuela had other things on its mind at the end of the seventh inning.
Down 2-1 in the game, Venezuela was threatened with a possible two-out comeback after Milwaukee Brewers rising star Jackson Chourio singled to center field, allowing Andrés Giménez to advance to third base.
That’s when Ronald Acuña Jr., the face of Venezuelan baseball, arrived first with an infield single that allowed Giménez to score, tying the game at two apiece. But the demonstration was not over yet.
The Venezuelans got hot after Acuña’s single, when Maikel García singled to left field, scoring Chourio, and Luis Arráez brought home Acuña. With two outs, Venezuela took advantage of all the momentum with a three-run seventh inning that made the score 4-2.
Italy had clung to the lead since the end of the second inning, when they took advantage of a bases-loaded situation. JJ D’Orazio walked to the plate, while Dante Nori hit a fielder’s choice grounder that scored another to give Italy a 2-0 lead.
Slugger Eugenio Suárez put Venezuela on the board in the top of the fourth inning with a solo home run to left center field, reducing the deficit to one. But they couldn’t muster any additional offense until the seventh inning.
From there, Italy was never able to start a comeback, as Daniel Palencia finally closed the door in the ninth inning, striking out the last two Italian batters.
While Venezuela celebrated, Italy hung its head, but its story this month has been nothing short of incredible. Their dugout espresso machine, 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, top prospects and players of Italian heritage, earning praise from major league players over the past two weeks.
But it is Venezuela, ripe with MLB’s best talent, ready to take on Team USA and starter Nolan McLean, whom Italy tweaked in its pool play, on Tuesday night to determine who has the rights 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 pm ET on FOX.
