USMNT's Gianluca Busio helps Venezia return to Serie A

Venezia will be back in Italy's Serie A next season, after a 2-2 draw at Spezia on Friday secured promotion back to the top tier with a game to spare.

It will also mean a chance for a return to Italy's top division for United States international Gianluca Busio. The midfielder played all 90 minutes on Friday, starting his 36th out of the club's 37 league games this season.

- USMNT depth chart: Top 15 players in each position, ranked
- Why does McKennie keep having to fightt to keep his sport with USMNT, Juve?
- World Cup 2026 kit ranking

Despite letting a 2-0 lead slip late on, Venezia lead Serie B by a point over second-placed Frosinone but crucially have an unassailable four-point advantage over Monza going into the final round of fixtures. Frosinone can join Venezia with a win or draw against Mantova in its final match next Friday.

The top two are promoted automatically to Serie A, with the third team being decided through playoffs.

It means an immediate return to Serie A for Venezia after they were relegated following a single campaign in the top tier last season.

"There is great pride in this promotion: we truly did many things the right way," Venezia captain Michael Svoboda said. "Since preseason, we knew we had something special, and now we've managed to achieve this dream. We had an incredible staff who always prepared us in the best way, and that showed throughout the entire season.

"The draw came because we weren't ready on second balls and we conceded something in duels. We didn't know what was happening on the other pitches, but when the fans started singing, I understood that we were close to our goal. Having fans like this is something special -- in every match they stood by us and pushed us to achieve this promotion.

"Now I want to enjoy the celebration, but also finish the season in first place and win the league -- that's our objective, then we can celebrate."

Busio joined Venezia from MLS side Sporting Kansas City in 2021 when still aged just 19. That same year he made his debut for the U.S. men's national team and has gone onto win 17 caps, scoring once.

His last appearance for the U.S. came against Jamaica in the Concacaf Nations League in November 2024.

Two of the three teams dropping down from Serie A were also decided later on Friday.

Pisa's 2-1 defeat to Leece sent the Tuscan club back to the Italian second division .

Pisa was promoted from Serie B a year ago but goes down after a woeful season in Serie A in which it won only two of its 35 games so far.

The result also meant relegation for second-from-bottom Verona. It has 19 points, one more than Pisa, but it cannot catch Lecce, which is fourth-to-last in the table with 32.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.