Home / Latest MLB News Who won the World Baseball Classic? Team USA vs Venezuela score, result, highlights Bryce Harper reflected on Team USA's 2026 WBC campaign Written by Ben Miller Last Update: March 18, 2026 10:54:14 am GMT 3 min read Eugenio Suarez claimed nobody believed in Venezuela after hitting a tiebreaking double in the ninth innings of the 2026 World Baseball Classic final to help his country become champions for the first time on an emotionally charged night in Miami. The majority of the crowd of more than 36,000 noisily backed Venezuela, who established a 2-0 lead over star-studded opponents and overcame Bryce Harpers two-run homer in the eighth to make history.We are family here, Suarez told FOX in the immediate aftermath of the underdog victory. Thats why we play with passion, with love because we feel that jersey, we feel our country in front of us.Thats why this is a lot for us as players, as people, as human beings and as Venezuelans. Now we are the champions.Nobody believed in Venezuela, but now weve won the championship. Its a celebration for all the Venezuelan country.Table of Contents1 Why does the World Baseball Classic mean so much?2 WBC 2026: Bryce Harper on Team USAs great chance3 World Baseball Classic joy4 Path to the 2026 WBC final: Full Venezuela, Team USA resultsWhy does the World Baseball Classic mean so much?Team USA, the Dominican Republic and dethroned champions Japan had been considered considerably more likely to win the title than Venezuela, who reached the semi-finals for the first time since 2009 by beating the holders in the quarter-finals.Maikel Garcia was named tournament Most Valuable Player and led the field with 10 hits for the side captained by veteran Salvador Perez.Ive never seen any team celebrate and enjoy a victory more than Venezuela did, observed ESPN analyst Tim Kurkjian. It means everything to them. Thats what the World Baseball Classic is all about: pride in the country. The energy and emotion we saw in the WBC was absolutely breathtaking.In a private moment, players from Venezuela will tell you this is even bigger than winning the World Series for them in the United States.WBC 2026: Bryce Harper on Team USAs great chanceTeam USAs roster was regarded as the best at the tournament, with breakout star Roman Anthony and Logan Webb among the players to receive All-Tournament honors as part of a team featuring reigning Cy Young winners Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal.I love the atmosphere and I love the chance, Harper said of his starring role in the decider. Grateful for it.We tied it up right there, and we had a great chance to win that game. I just tried to enjoy the moment, the atmosphere, everything. It was very loud in there tonight.Photo: Hayden Schiff, CC BY 4.0World Baseball Classic joyThe tournament lasted 13 days, with a pool stage held in Tokyo, San Juan, Houston and Miami and the ensuing matches held entirely in the US.Kurkjian said fans had been having the best time ever. Thats kind of the idea here, he added. Were supposed to be enjoying the game and there was no more joy than we saw in this World Baseball Classic.It was everywhere. Every game you went to was just stunningly good as far as the energy and the emotion.Path to the 2026 WBC final: Full Venezuela, Team USA resultsHeres how the finalists fared at the tournament.DateStageResultMarch 6PoolVenezuela 6-2 NetherlandsMarch 6PoolUSA 15-5 BrazilMarch 7PoolVenezuela 11-3 IsraelMarch 7PoolUSA 9-1 Great BritainMarch 9PoolVenezuela 4-0 NicaraguaMarch 9PoolUSA 5-3 MexicoMarch 10PoolUSA 8-6 ItalyMarch 11PoolVenezuela 7-5 Dominican RepublicMarch 13QuarterfinalUSA 5-4 CanadaMarch 14QuarterfinalVenezuela 8-5 JapanMarch 15SemifinalUSA 2-1 Dominican RepublicMarch 16SemifinalVenezuela 4-2 ItalyMarch 17FinalVenezuela 3-2 USA Topics: Baseball Bryce Harper Team USA Follow us: Ben Miller Ben has more than 10 years' experience in sports journalism, covering two EURO tournaments, European club competitions, the Premier League, EFL and WSL and a variety of other major sporting events. Read more from Ben Miller
