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For two teams who were considered underdogs heading into the 2026 World Baseball Classic, just two wins separate them from history.
On Monday night, Italy and Venezuela will meet in the semifinals of the tournament with a championship date against the United States on the line. But unlike the U.S., neither Italy nor Venezuela has been fully relying on a deep collection of star MLB talent to make their WBC runs — both teams have simply gotten hot at the right time.
WATCH: Stream Italy vs. Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic through Fubo
For Italy, which previously beat the United States and won Pool B, the vibes couldn’t be much better. Royals slugger Vinnie Pasquantino has anchored a lineup that’s seen contributors from top-to-bottom, while MLB veterans Aaron Nola and Michael Lorenzen have brought stellar innings at the top of the rotation. After beating Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals, the Italians now have their eyes on winning it all.
However, a strong Venezuela lineup stands in their way — on Saturday, a three-home-run day helped Venezuela upset the defending WBC champions, Japan. There isn’t an easy out in the team’s lineup, with Ronald Acuna Jr., Luis Arraez and Wilyer Abreu leading the way so far. Like Italy, one more win would set up Venezuela to play for its first WBC title.
It will be Nola on the mound for Italy on Monday night in Miami, while Keider Montero is set to get the ball for Venezuela. Just two WBC games remain — only one of these teams will get the chance to topple the U.S. in the championship.
The Sporting News is tracking live updates and highlights from Italy vs. Venezuela in the semifinals of the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Follow along with the latest from Miami below.
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC HQ: Live scores | Updated bracket | Full TV schedule
Italy vs. Venezuela baseball final score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | F | |
| Venezuela | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Italy | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Italy vs. Venezuela live updates, highlights from 2026 World Baseball Classic
(All times Eastern)
Top of the sixth
9:55 p.m.: Avila departs after surrendering a hit to start the frame. He’ll be replaced by Angel Zerpa.
Bottom of the fifth
9:40 p.m.: Avila puts Pasquantino down on strikes! The Venezuelan bullpen continues to flex its might as the fifth inning comes to a close.
9:35 p.m.: Avila takes aim at his next set of batters. It’s been a strong showing thus far by the Venezuelans’ bullpen thus far. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling in the bototm half.
Top of fifth inning
9:30 p.m.: Venezuela couldn’t make Lorenzen pay, failing to bring a runner around. However, the Venezuelans are starting to make their presence felt on the offensive side of the ball.
9:27 p.m.: Contreras is in scoring position, having moved to second via sacrifice bunt after leading off with a walk.
Bottom of the fourth inning
9:21 p.m.: Luinder Avila sets aside Italy’s attack as the Venezuelans return to the fore. Michael Lorenzen will take over for Nola, depriving Italy of another potential starting option if it advances to the final.
Top of the fourth inning
9:15 p.m.: Venezuela is unable to add to its rally — at least not yet. But we do have a game here at loanDepot Park.
9:13 p.m.: HOME RUN! Suarez lights the fire for Team Venezuela, depositing an errant Nola effort over the right field bleachers. That’s just what the doctor ordered for Venezuela, who halves Italy’s lead in the blink of an eye.
GENOOO!
Eugenio Suárez has Team Venezuela on the board 💪 pic.twitter.com/1RDLCG972G
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 17, 2026
Italy 2, Venezuela 1
Bottom of the third inning
9:10 p.m.: Italy is unable to capitalize on a Vinnie Pasquantino walk. The score remains steady at 2-0.
Top of the third inning
9:01 p.m.: Garcia grounds out to Antonacci in short. That’s three scoreless frames for Nola thus far.
8:59 p.m.: That’s a big out for Nola. He overcame a 3-0 deficit to put Acuna down on strikes. Two away for the lumbering Italian.
8:56 p.m.: William Contreras opens the third with a walk. That will set up Jackson Chourio with a chance to level things at two runs apiece.
Bottom of the second inning
8:51 p.m.: Arraez cushions Antonacci’s scorcher, prancing to first base before the sliding hitter.
8:50 p.m.: Nori takes second without a throw. That’s two runners in scoring position for Sam Antonacci, who faces a full count.
8:48 p.m.: Dante Nori dribbles his effort into Torres’ glove. It wasn’t enough to prevent an out. But he avoided the double play, too, scoring Caglianone in the process. That will double Italy’s advantage.
Italy 2, Venezuela 0
8:47 p.m.: Ricardo Sanchez will take Montero’s place on the bump. Talk about a high leverage situation.
8:45 p.m.: D’Orazio walks, taking first after holding off on Montero’s curling slider. The Italians will open the scoring as the bases remain loaded with one away!
Team Italy is on the board first in this semifinal matchup!#WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/nL05TVdgj0
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 17, 2026
Italy 1, Venezuela 0
8:41 p.m.: Montero loses another, walking Andrew Fischer on five pitches. Johan Santana will step to the mound as the Italians load the bases with one gone. The pressure is on for the Venezuelan right-hander. There’s some movement in the bullpen as J.J. D’Orazio steps to the plate. This is likely Montero’s last batter.
8:38 p.m.: Zach Dezenzo and Jac Caglianone sneak onto base courtesy of a single and walk, respectively. The Italians have two ducks on the pond with one away. Let’s see if Montero is able to side-step his way out of this early jam.
Top of second inning
8:32 p.m.: Nola wasn’t quite able to claim a clean inning, surrendering a hit to Gleyber Torres. He got out the inning one pitch later, though, invoking a pop fly from quarterfinal hero Wilyer Abreu.
8:30 p.m.: Nola puts Ezequiel Tovar away with that looping curveball. He looks to have found his rhythm early in this one.
8:25 p.m.: Nola faced off against Eugenio Suarez to lead off the second frame. The Reds slugger huffed and puffed, taking the Italian hurler to 10 pitches. But he fell victim to a delicate curveball that nestled inside the bottom corner of the strike zone. One away.
Bottom of first inning
8:20 p.m.: Keider Montero whiffs one before coaxing a double play of his own, setting Jakob Marsee and Jon Berti aside in the process.
Top of first inning
8:10 p.m.: Maikel Garcia gets on via bunt before being sent back to the dugout following a Luis Arraez double play. Aaron Nola gets out of the frame unscathed.
Pre-game
7:55 p.m.: The Italian and Venezuelan national anthems are spilling from the loanDepot Park Stadium speakers. We’re but moments away from the start of tonight’s semifinals!
7:15 p.m.: Monday’s matchup represents a bit of home cooking for Francisco Cervelli. The Italian manager is actually Venezuelan, having been born to an Italian father and Venezuelan mother in Valencia, the third-largest city in Venezuela.
There’s no doubt where his loyalties lie ahead of tonight’s contest, however:
Francisco Cervelli, el manager venezolano 🇻🇪 de la selección de Italia, explica lo que significa para él dirigir al Beisbol de ese país 🇮🇹 durante el Clásico Mundial. pic.twitter.com/7izT8y7DjD
— Guillermo Celis (@GuillermoCelis) March 5, 2026
6:45 p.m.: Historically, this matchup has belonged to the Venezuelans. They enter Monday’s contest 5-0 against Italy in WBC games. Their last two matchups were decided by one run, however.
Es amplio el historial de duelos entre Venezuela 🇻🇪 e Italia 🇮🇹 en el Clásico Mundial.
La selección caribeña ha ganado los cinco duelos anteriores. Todos en la primera ronda.
El segundo enfrentamiento de 2017 fue en un juego de desempate.#WorldBaseballClassic | #ElExtrabase⚾️ pic.twitter.com/VxUki5ikob
— El Extrabase ⚾️ (@ElExtrabase) March 16, 2026
6:30 p.m.: Here’s a look at the lineups for tonight’s contest. Not too many surprises on either side. Keep tabs on Italy’s backstop today: as a reminder, the Italians will be without Kyle Teel, who was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament after suffering a hamstring strain.
The lineups for Team Venezuela and Team Italy with a spot in the #WorldBaseballClassic Final up for grabs! pic.twitter.com/KkcxbMObRp
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 16, 2026
MORE: How did the USA beat the Dominican Republic?
How to watch Italy vs. Venezuela in World Baseball Classic
Italy vs. Venezuela start time
- Date: Monday, March 16
- Start time: 8 p.m. ET
The semifinal matchup between Italy and Venezuela is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Monday, March 16.
The game will be held at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida.
What channel is Italy vs. Venezuela on?
- TV channel: FS1
- Live stream: Fubo
Italy vs. Venezuela will be airing nationally on FS1.
Cord-cutters can stream the game with Fubo, which carries FS1 in its channel lineup and is currently offering a free trial.
MORE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 2026:
World Baseball Classic knockout round schedule
Friday, March 13 – Quarterfinals
| Game |
|---|
| Dominican Republic 10, Korea 0 (7 inn.) |
| USA 5, Canada 3 |
Saturday, March 14 – Quarterfinals
| Game |
|---|
| Italy 8, Puerto Rico 6 |
| Venezuela 8, Japan 5 |
Sunday, March 15 – Semifinals
Semifinals and championship will be played in Miami
| Game |
|---|
| USA 2, Dominican Republic 1 |
Monday, March 16 – Semifinals
| Game | Time (ET) | TV/Stream |
|---|---|---|
| Italy vs. Venezuela | 8 p.m. | FS1, Fubo |
Tuesday, March 17 – Championship
| Game | Time (ET) | TV/Stream |
|---|---|---|
| USA vs. Italy/Venezuela | 8 p.m. | Fox, Fubo |
