Venezuela defeat USA, win first World Baseball Classic championship

Venezuela defeat USA, win first World Baseball Classic championshipVenezuela upset the star-studded host nation to win a politically charged showdown in Miami.Venezuela scored a stunning 3-2 upset over tournament hosts United States to capture the World Baseball Classic for the first time on Tuesday in a tense final played out against a backdrop of political tensions.Eugenio Suarez drove in the winning run in the top of the ninth inning to seal a victory for Venezuela over an American lineup that had been hyped as a baseball “dream team”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4CAF strips Senegal of AFCON title, Morocco declared African championslist 2 of 4Vinicius Jr scores twice as Real Madrid knock Man City out of UCL last 16list 3 of 4Liverpool’s Slot faces Galatasaray in potentially tenure-defining UCL tielist 4 of 4FIFA rejects Iran’s request to move World Cup matches from US to Mexicoend of listTrailing for most of the game, the Team USA looked to have hauled themselves back into the contest when Bryce Harper blasted a game-tying two-run homer in the eighth inning.But Harper’s salvo proved to be in vain as Venezuela regained the lead in the ninth inning, punishing a shaky performance from USA reliever Garrett Whitlock to clinch victory.“What can I say, it’s amazing,” Venezuela hero Suarez said. “Nobody believed in Venezuela, but now we win the championship today. This is a celebration for all the Venezuelan country.”Suarez’s winning double settled a final that had got under way in a raucous atmosphere at Miami’s LoanDepot Park, with a large contingent of Venezuela fans in a sold-out crowd of 36,190 booing the USA lineup during pre-game introductions.US President Donald Trump, whose government captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid in January, had stoked tensions with a social media post on Monday, congratulating Venezuela for reaching the final while simultaneously suggesting the country could become the US’s “51st state”.Trump again returned to the theme moments after Tuesday’s defeat, declaring in a post on his Truth Social platform: “STATEHOOD!!! President DJT.”