defeat

Venezuela 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”.

Trailing 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.”

Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, who replaced the ousted Maduro, declared a “national day of jubilation” on Wednesday.

“This triumph is the victory of the passion, talent and unity that define us as Venezuelans,” Rodriguez wrote on X.

“An achievement that will remain forever in the heart of our country. ¡VIVA VENEZUELA!”

Venezuela dominate

Venezuela, whose players had been instructed by team management to avoid commenting on politics throughout the tournament, dominated the vaunted Team USA lineup for long periods, with starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez stifling the American batters led by New York Yankees home run king Aaron Judge.

The South Americans took the lead in the top of the third as USA starter Nolan McLean struggled for command from the mound.

Salvador Perez singled to get on base before Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr drew a walk.

A wild pitch from McLean left Venezuela with runners on second and third base, and on the next pitch, Kansas City Royals slugger Maikel Garcia’s sacrifice fly allowed Perez to score.

With the USA bats continuing to flail against Rodriguez, the Venezuelans doubled their lead in the top of the fifth inning.

McLean delivered a four-seam fastball into the centre of the strike zone, and Boston Red Sox left-fielder Wilyer Abreu duly pounced, crushing a 414-foot (126-metre) solo home run to centre field for a 2-0 lead.

Venezuela appeared to be closing in on victory, but were jolted by Harper’s 432-foot (132-metre) home run to centre field off reliever Andres Machado in the eighth.

But the USA rally was short-lived, and Venezuela grabbed the lead again in the ninth when Luis Arraez drew a lead-off walk from Whitlock before Suarez’s blast to left centre field gave Venezuela the winning run.

Closer Daniel Palencia removed Kyle Schwarber, Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony in quick succession to seal Venezuela’s triumph.

MIAMI — Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic for the first time, rebounding from a blown eighth-inning lead to beat the United States 3-2 Tuesday night on Eugenio Suárez’s tiebreaking double in the ninth.

Maikel Garcia’s third-inning sacrifice fly and Wilyer Abreu’s fifth-inning homer off rookie Nolan McLean built a 2-0 lead before a roaring pro-Latin America crowd. Meanwhile, left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez and lights-out relievers limited the Americans to two hits through the seventh.

Bobby Witt Jr. walked with two outs in the eighth and Bryce Harper drove the second straight changeup from Andrés Machado over the center-field fence for a two-run homer that tied it. Harper slowly trotted around the bases and took time at third to salute coach Dino Ebel.

Luis Arraez walked against Garrett Whitlock starting the ninth. Pinch-runner Javier Sanoja stole second just ahead of catcher Will Smith’s throw and came home when Suárez doubled to the left-center gap. Suárez spread his arms wide and pointed to the sky at second base while teammates streamed from the dugout to greet Sanoja at the plate.

Daniel Palencia struck out two in a perfect bottom half to finish a three-hitter and get his third save of the WBC, striking out Roman Anthony to end the game. Venezuelans ran onto the infield to celebrate as the Americans stared while leaning on their dugout railing.

“Nobody believed in Venezuela but now we win the championship,” Suárez said. “This is a celebration for all the Venezuelan country.”

Despite a heralded roster of stars led by Aaron Judge, Harper and Paul Skenes, the U.S. lost its second straight final of baseball’s premier international event and remained without a title since 2017.

Venezuela celebrates its victory.

(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)

Judge was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the championship game and hit .222 with five RBIs in the tournament, while Harper batted .214 with three RBIs and Alex Bregman .143 with four RBIs. The U.S. scored nine runs in the three knockout-round games while batting .188.

Ahead of a matchup with political overtones, players and coaches avoided discussing the government turmoil between the nations, heightened when the U.S. military captured Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in January. The sellout crowd of 36,190 at LoanDepot Park was heavily pro-Venezuela, with some booing American players during the introductions.

Venezuela became the second Latin American nation to win the WBC, after the Dominican Republic in 2013. The U.S. took the title in 2017 and lost the 2023 final to three-time champion Japan on this same field.

While the U.S., Japan and the Dominican Republic got much of the attention ahead of the sixth edition of the 20-nation event, Venezuela’s success was not that surprising. Sixty-three players born in Venezuela appeared on Major League Baseball opening-day rosters last year, second-most from outside the U.S. behind the Dominican Republic’s 100.

Venezuela went ahead in the third inning against McLean, getting the start because Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers decided the two-time Cy Young Award winner would make only a first-round appearance.

Salvador Perez sliced a first-pitch single and Ronald Acuña Jr. walked with one out. The runners advanced when McLean bounced a curveball, and Garcia followed with a sac fly to center.

Abreu doubled the lead when he drove a fastball 414 feet to center. His helmet fell off when he rounded second and he hopped in excitement as he neared the plate, where he was greeted by a line of teammates.

Rodriguez gave up one hit in 4 1/3 innings before Venezuela turned to its bullpen.

U.S. players had arrived at LoanDepot Park in game-worn U.S. Olympic hockey jerseys coordinated by outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Jack Hughes, who scored the gold medal-winning goal against Canada last month.

In a darkened ballpark filled by fans wearing wristbands with festive blinking lights, Judge and Arraez led the teams down the foul lines for the introductions while carrying their nation’s flags.

Morocco have been declared the winners of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after the Confederation of African Football (Caf) overturned the result of their final defeat to Senegal.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned by African football’s governing body.

A statement from Caf said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

HOUSTON — In their first meeting of the season on Christmas Day, Lakers coach JJ Redick said the Lakers were “punked” by the Houston Rockets and vowed not to let it happen again.

On Monday, the Lakers displayed their toug to hness in a 100-92 win over the Rockets at Toyota Center.

Even when they missed 14 comsecutive shots at one point in the fourth quarter, the Lakers showed their resilience with a gritty defensive effort that kept them in the game. The Lakers scored only 17 points in the fourth, but they held the Rockets to just 12 points en route to their sixth consecutive win.

“They’re a really good basketball team and they make you either play hard and match their physicality, and how they muck the game up, or you can lay down,” Redick said. “And we didn’t lay down tonight. Had a deficit there in the third quarter. Our guys just kept playing.”

Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 36 points, six rebounds and four assists. LeBron James scored 18 points and Austin Reaves had 15 points.

But three big baskets from Deandre Ayton (seven points, 11 rebounds) and a big three-pointer by Marcus Smart (11 points) helped the Lakers open their six-game trip with a win.

Sitting third in the Western Conference, the Lakers (43-25) will take a 1½-game lead over the Rockets (41-26) into their rematch on Wednesday night.

“Obviously, we have another one on Wednesday, but it was a very important game,” said Doncic, who shot 14 for 27 from the field. We’ve been playing very good. Our defense has been pretty good, so just gotta continue that way.”

The Lakers threw double teams at Houston’s Kevin Durant all game, limiting him to 18 points and forcing him into seven of the Rockets’ 24 turnovers.

Durant shot only 16 times yet made eight. He was one for three in the fourth quarter and had just as many turnovers as points (two) in the final 12 minutes. One of those turnovers was on an eight-second violation.

“He’s one of the greatest players we’ve ever seen play,” James said. “Obviously you got to try to show him different looks, try to keep him off-balanced and when he shoots, hope he misses. So, I thought we did a good job of having a game plan but also just switching up our pitches.

“You can’t show a great like that too many of the same coverages throughout the whole game. He’ll get a feel for it.”

Doncic got off to what has become his typical first-quarter starts, scoring 16 points on seven-for-10 shooting. But Houston took a 58-51 lead at halftime after taking control of the boards in the second quarter. The Rockets turned six offensive rebounds into 13 points.

The Lakers also had a hard time scoring, shooting only 32% from the field and 13% (one for eight) from three-point range in the quarter.

After trailing by as many as 10 points in the third quarter, the Lakers surged and took an 83-80 lead heading into the fourth. After what happened in L.A. back in December, the Lakers were determined not to let Houston run away with the game.

After taking an 85-80 lead, the Lakers struggled to find consistent offense until Ayton checked back into the game with 4:52 left. Ayton scored on a tip shot to give the Lakers an 89-88 lead, then scored off a pair of offensive rebounds in the final 90 seconds to help keep the Lakers ahead for good. He finished with six points and five rebounds in the fourth quarter.

“He was amazing,” James said. “I mean, just the fact that he was sitting over there for as long as he did and stayed locked in on the game and came in and finished the game. He was able to get a tip-dunk, a couple of jump hooks around the rim, and a couple of rebounds. He helped us finish the game.”

Note: Lakers backup center Maxi Kleber did not play as he continues to recover from a lumbar back strain. “He’s basically been shut down for five days to sort of heal,” Redick said. “He’s not with us right now, and we hope he’s able to join us later on in the trip.”

Fine margins are often the difference between a title-winning side and one still building towards it.

Thomas Ramos’ last-gasp penalty to win the championship for France came after a handful of moments England will replay in their minds for a while.

Henry Pollock did brilliantly to steal the ball late on but, instead of taking contact and securing it, he tried to move it and possession was lost.

Ollie Chessum might also look back and think he could have edged a little closer to the posts to make the kick easier for Fin Smith, who himself will be frustrated at leaving points out there.

Those are the moments you write down and burn into your memory, because when they come around again – and they always do in Test rugby – you want the instinct to be automatic.

The best teams make winning those moments a habit.

Just look at South Africa at the 2023 World Cup – three knockout wins by a single point.

That is not luck. That is a team that understand exactly how to manage pressure.

England had been through a sticky spell and this performance gives them something real to build on heading into the summer.

When this squad meet up again for the tour to South Africa, there should be a real sense of belief.

They have shown they can challenge the very best teams in the world. Now it is about learning how to close out those pressure moments when they come.

Another area that will need attention is opposition analysis.

France exposed England a couple of times in the first half with tries straight from set-piece starter plays.

At this level, that is inexcusable. Louis Bielle-Biarrey chasing on to kicks through is something France have done all championship.

Those details matter. Fix them, combine that with the intensity England showed in Paris, and suddenly you have a team not just competing with the best, but capable of beating the best.

“England were blistering – their pace, their skill, their intensity, their physicality and they had a genuine chance of winning,” said former England scrum-half Matt Dawson on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I feel for the players because they are going to be down, but I want them to be super, super positive because if they carry on playing like that for the next 18 months they are going to challenge in big tournaments and big games, and they are going to win big games.”

And yet. When the adrenaline levels drop, questions will also be raised.

Should England have made victory stick?

With the restart regathered by Chessum, the ball safely at the base, Sam Underhill, Henry Pollock and Chandler Cunningham-South on their feet as a potential pod, and only two minutes left on the clock, could England have kept ball in hand and run down the clock?

Instead, Jack van Poortvliet, who had brought some zip off the bench, opted to kick the ball away and infield. Matthieu Jalibert, a broken-field fiend, accepted the invite to run back and England were back under the pump.

Closing out victories was a repeated failing in a series of close defeats in autumn 2024. It is a habit that England don’t want to reacquire.

One they definitely haven’t kicked yet is indiscipline. Only one of the 162 team campaigns in Six Nations history – Italy 2002 – has picked up more cards than England have this year.

Eight yellows, two of which combined to make Henry Arundell’s 20-minute red against Scotland, have hobbled England throughout.

Ellis Genge was dispatched to the sin-bin seat of shame in Paris, adjudged to have cynically dragged down a France driving maul that was destined for the line.

It may have been a marginal call, but, backed up to their own line, England knew the stakes were high and the punishment for any infringement would be heavy.

France raced back into the lead in the prop’s absence.

Walsall have sacked head coach Mat Sadler following Tuesday’s defeat by Salford City which left them with one win in their past 11 matches in League Two.

The 1-0 loss was their third in a row and further dented their fading challenge for a play-off place.

Walsall were four points clear at the top of the table in early December, but a run of two wins in 14 since Boxing Day has left them 11th in the table, three points outside the top seven with 10 games remaining.

Sadler, a former defender at the club, leaves after a nearly three years in charge, having been appointed on a permanent basis in May 2023 following a short interim stint.

“I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the significant efforts and contributions of Mat, both as a professional and as a person, during his time at the club,” Walsall co-chairman Ben Boycott said.

“We thank him for his dedicated service and wish him the very best for the future.”

Coach Darren Byfield will take interim charge of the team with support from Terry Connor and the rest of the backroom staff, the club also confirmed.