Venezuela has not slept since Saturday. The 8-5 victory over Shohei Ohtani’s Japan at Miami’s LoanDepot Park has unleashed a collective euphoria, which flooded the streets and social networks on Sunday.
Not surprisingly, the national team not only dethroned the greatest winner in the history of the World Classic, but also officially sealed its direct qualification to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
World Classic: Venezuela vs Japan
What a moment for Ronald Acuña Jr. and Team Venezuela ❤️🇻🇪#WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/VtcyiuSgF8
– World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 15, 2026
Venezuela won 8-5 and pulled off the upset on Saturday in the 2026 World Baseball Classic by eliminating Shohei Ohtani’s Japan.
Venezuela will now play the semifinal against Italy, who pulled off the other surprise of the day by knocking out Puerto Rico.
The VI edition of the World Baseball Classic will have a new champion after the Japanese team, which won the 2023 tournament and is the tournament’s top winner with three victories, was eliminated.
Venezuela is again a semifinalist for the second time, after the 2009 edition when it lost to Korea.
This Saturday they not only knocked out one of the top favorites at Miami’s LoanDepot Park, but also booked their direct ticket to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The other ticket for the Americas was won by the Dominican Republic.
In front of 34,548 spectators, Venezuela took confidence from the first inning when Ronald Acuña Jr. opened the scoring with a home run against 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
But unbeaten Japan responded in kind when Ohtani hit a 114 mph home run to tie the game against Venezuelan starter Ranger Suarez.
Venezuela took the lead again in the second inning with Gleyber Torres, who hit a double that allowed Ezequiel Tovar to score to make it 2-1.
Japan woke up in the third episode and attacked Suarez with everything.
First, Teruaki Sato hit a double, drove in Sosuke Genda’s run and put Ohtani on third.
Then Shota Morishita hit a home run and drove in three runs to give them a 2-5 lead.
Yamamoto settled down by pitching four innings in which he allowed two runs and struck out five.
But Venezuela did not give up and reacted to the Japanese bullpen.
In the fifth they scored two more runs to make the game 4-5, when Maikel García hit a home run against Chihiro Sumida with Jackson Chourio on base.
The key moment came in the sixth chapter.
Wilyer Abreu hit a three-run homer against Hiromi Itoh, winner of the Sawamura Award (Japan’s version of the Cy Young Award), which drove in three runs, with Tovar and Torres in circulation, and ended up tilting the score in Venezuela’s favor.
The end of the game could not have been better for the Creole team.
In the ninth inning Daniel Palencia dominated Ohtani from the mound with a fly ball for the last out and sent his team to the semifinals against Italy, a game that will be played this Monday in Miami.
The first semifinal of the tournament will be played this Sunday between the United States and the Dominican Republic, also in Miami.
An unprecedented Olympic milestone
TEAM VENEZUELA HAS A DATE WITH TEAM ITALY IN THE #WORLDBASEBALLCLASSIC SEMIFINALS 😮 pic.twitter.com/gpQzrenaNX
– World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 15, 2026
The Venezuelan Olympic Committee (COV) described March 14, 2026 as a historic date.
For the first time in history, Venezuelan baseball will be present at an Olympic Games, securing one of the two direct slots granted to the Americas (the other went to the Dominican Republic).
“Venezuela has defeated the reigning champion… they are heroes,” read one of the most shared messages on social networks, reflecting the feelings of a nation that sees in this team the real possibility of lifting its first World Cup trophy.
Road to glory: Next stop, Italy
Arepa power vs. espresso power 🔥.
Must see baseball is coming your way Monday 👀 pic.twitter.com/ASZ5qNkF8c
– MLB (@MLB) March 15, 2026
After knocking out the favored Japan, Venezuela is preparing for its second historic semifinal (the first was in 2009).
The opponent will be the surprising Italy, which arrives after eliminating Puerto Rico.
Filed under: Venezuela Japan World Classic
With information from EFE
