Venezuela beat Japan up and advances undefeated to the U-23 World Cup super round

Published at: 10/11/2026 08:09 PM

The Venezuelan national team stripped the reigning monarch, Japan, of the undefeated after winning with a score of 7-1 at the Roberto Clemente Stadium.

The result confirmed the leadership of the Caribbean ninth in Group B of the Under-23 World Cup Nicaragua 2026, where it advanced to the super round with a perfect record of five victories without setbacks.

To defeat the leader of the WBSC ranking, the plan required immediate aggressiveness. The South American slugger executed that premise in the opening of the match with a devastating five-score attack that conditioned the opening of the Japanese starter Kodai Mori.

The offensive kept up the pressure by adding one more line in the second act and another in the sixth chapter. For its part, the Japanese response was limited to a solitary home run by Natsuki Fujiwara against the shipments of starter Andrés Parra; it was the only damage that the Venezuelan pitching corps tolerated throughout the match.

The Venezuelan line-up punished rival pitching with a deployment of 11 uncatchable ones. Johnfrank Salazar led the attack after sounding 4-2 with a run scored and RBIs, backed by the opportunity of Brailyn Antunez, who finished 3-1 with a double and two RBIs.

The bitter note of the day was played by Joan Delgado. The ranger completed a perfect 2-2 afternoon with two scored, but had to leave the match due to a shoulder injury following a dramatic slip in the plate.

From the hill, the Venezuelan pitching lectured. Parra completed a presentation of two full innings in which he allowed an undisputed home run by Fujiwara, and fanned two rivals. The right-handed Josbel García went into relief work and won his second joust victory after withdrawing 1.1 episodes without fissures.

The throwing corps did not give up the rest of the Asian artillery. Juan Rojas (0.2 IP), Saúl García (1.0 IP) and Riskiel Tineo (1.0 IP) nullified any threat in the middle zone, while Miguel Mejía was responsible for placing the lock on the commitment in the seventh stretch.

Absolute dominance heading to the super round

Statistics confirm Venezuela's devastating passage into Nicaraguan territory. The Caribbean squad finished the opening round as the best offense of the tournament with 44 runs scored, an average of .345 and an astronomical OPS of 1,062.

In terms of pitching, the Venezuelan arms tolerated just one score in 29 episodes over five games, leaving a microscopic 0.24 ERA, 38 strikeouts and an astounding +43 career differential.

The Venezuelan team will play their first challenge of the super round on November 13, when they will measure their strength against the first place in Group A.

Mazo News Team