Venezuela got a big win against Japan in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals, and they showed in the matchup that they are the real deal. Manager Omar Lopez was hype about the win, and he had a huge declaration about the team following the game, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
“Venezuela manager Omar Lopez realizes its first time Venezuela has beaten Japan, but says, ‘Venezuela has always been a global powerhouse,'” Nightengale wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
With the win, Venezuela was also able to qualify for the 2028 Olympics, and they’ll be one of the six teams in Los Angeles.
“My country right now is celebrating,’’ Lopez said via USA Today. “It's extremely happy. It's on the streets. They're drinking right now, and that makes me happier than anybody else in this world, because this is the only thing that I can do. This is the only thing that I can do for my country.”
Venezuela had three home runs in their game against Japan, with one of them coming from Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. Shohei Ohtani did his best to keep his team in it, but it wasn't enough to take Venezuela down.
“All I can say is that it’s really frustrating,” Ohtani said, per USA Today. “It was the kind of game where we had chances to win. It wasn’t like we were completely overwhelmed from start to finish. I think there were definitely moments where we had opportunities to win…”
Venezuela will now face Italy on Monday in the WBC semifinals.
