World Classic 2026: Venezuela qualifies for the 2028 Olympic Games

The South American team dispatched the current tournament champions and is preparing to face Italy in its next game.

Venezuela achieved what many believed unthinkable: defeating the power of Japan and of Shohei Ohtanieliminating them in the process and advancing to the semi-final stage, where they will meet Italy for a place in the final.

The Venezuelans beat Japan in an exciting match played at the loanDepot Park in the city of Miami, by a score of 8 runs to 5, in a game where Shohei Ohtani He was the first and last batter of the game.

However, the Venezuelan victory also came with another important gain: Venezuela was classified for the first time in its history at Olympicswhere it joins Dominican Republic as the two teams that obtain the places granted by this version of the World Baseball Classic. Both teams will accompany the United States and probably Japan (which will seek its classification during the Premier 12 of 2027) in the event scheduled to be held in Los Angeles in 2028.

It is the first time that the World Baseball Classic It serves as an Olympic qualifier, and the idea behind it was to provide the teams from the American continent, who are the only ones that could acquire their pass through this tournament, with the best possible players to ensure a high level of competition.

Los Angeles 2028 will mark the seventh time in history that the program of the Olympics includes baseball as a discipline.