From dominating the hot favorite Team USA and Mexico to secure their quarterfinal berth to winning over Puerto Rico by an 8-6 score to secure their first-ever semifinal berth, Italy is having a dream run this WBC. What’s more is that they are still unbeaten in the WBC 2026! And the major credit goes to their captain and the Royals’ $11 million star, Vinnie Pasquantino. He dominated the pool play round, hitting 3 HRs at a .211 average. However, while he is excited about Italy’s first-ever top-four berth in the WBC, he forgot to acknowledge another team’s winning journey, Venezuela.

“Tried to get this fixed after the fact, but I’m sorry I excluded Venezuela. Didn’t mean to do that. Looking forward to watching that game; we all know it should be fireworks. My bad, Team Venezuela. I still love you, Maikel, Sal, Luinder, and Zerpa.” Pasquantino took no time to apologize to Team Venezuela for the snub from his earlier statement.

Japan, the USA, and the Dominican Republic started the WBC as favorites, and they were projected to reach the top four. Italy surely was not among the top contenders, but here they are. Expectedly, their captain was excited after winning the quarterfinals against Puerto Rico. “I don’t know how many people would’ve picked the Dominican Republic, Japan, the United States, and Italy in the final four, but we’re here now… this is incredible, man,” Pasquantino said, snubbing Venezuela from the list.

In reality, the remaining quarterfinal game between Japan and Venezuela is currently ongoing. So, taking Japan’s name for the top four snubbing Venezuela made Pasquantino rethink. Notably, Venezuela has failed to reach the WBC semifinals since 2009, and so their expectations are riding high this time against Japan. Same as Italy, they would start the game as an underdog. So, they also deserve appreciation for reaching the quarterfinals.

Pasquantino plays for the Royals in MLB alongside Venezuelan names like Maikel Garcia, Salvador Perez, Luinder Avila, and Angel Zerpa. In his apology post, Pasquantino mentioned each of them before the game against Japan.

And as Vinnie Pasquantino said, the game between Venezuela and Japan would have a lot of fireworks. Like Italy, Venezuela has Luis Arraez as its version of Vinnie Pasquantino. Till now, Arraez has been a standout, hitting .500 with 2 HRs, while Ronald Acuna Jr. leads the tournament with eight runs scored. So, Venezuela could take on Japan successfully, and Pasquantino knows that.

And for Italy, the Venezuela game matters because the winner between Japan and Venezuela would take them on in the second semifinal.

Team Italy’s captain, Vinnie Pasquantino, has yet to be an Italian

While this sounds comical, Vinnie Pasquantino, born in the US, is not an Italian citizen, and as per the new mandate in Italy, he couldn’t qualify for an Italian passport. So yes, Team Italy’s captain will lead his team to the WBC semifinal without himself being an Italian!

According to the latest Italian law, the transmission of Italian citizenship to any foreigners with Italian ancestors is restricted. It would be limited to the children of Italians only. That makes Pasquantino ineligible to get an Italian passport.

And apart from Pasquantino, the law affects the entire Italian baseball team. Reportedly, except for three names, the Italian clubhouse is entirely stuffed with players born in the American region.

“My grandfather is from Niagara Falls, and I did all this research in 2022, so I don’t 100% remember correctly, but I believe it was his father, born and raised in Italy,” Vinnie Pasquantino said via Pat McAfee’s show.

So, despite the Italian baseball team, including their captain, having their roots in Italy, they are still unproven. As Team Italy is set to maintain its unbeaten status in the semifinals, the country it is representing is yet to acknowledge its roots.