After taking down favourites Japan in the quarter-finals and the surprising Italy in semifinals, Venezuela has defeated United States in the final of the World Baseball Classic 2026, 3-2 in Miami, with Wilyer Abreu, Maikel García, named MVP, and Eugenio Suárez scoring the points that cancelled Bryce Harper's two home runs.
"I'm proud of this group, proud of this coaching staff and these players and proud to be representing 30 million Venezuelans back in my country," García said, reported by Reuters. "Next time you do a ranking of baseball teams, Venezuela is number one."
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Venezuela coach Omar López said that their country are going to be "celebrating for about a week" and Eugenio Suárez said that they are "not just teammates, we're family, that's why we play with passion, with love, because we feel the jersey. We feel our country in front of us."
It's the first time Venezuela wins the World Baseball Classic, the competition that replaced Baseball World Cup, which has been held six times since 2006. Venezuela's best position until now was third place in 2009; while United States won it in 2017 and reached the 2023 final. It's also the first major Venezuelan trophy in baseball since they won the Amateur World Series, former World Cup, in 1953.