Hours after Team USA’s manager said the team was already a lock to reach the World Baseball Classic’s quarterfinals, the team ended up on the brink of being eliminated.
Team USA lost to Italy 8-6 Tuesday night, which means that its fate will be determined by the results of Wednesday night’s game between Italy and Mexico, according to ESPN.
In the morning, Team USA Manager Mark DeRosa said, “We want to win this game even though our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals.”
He found out when he reached the stadium and, after the game, said he “misspoke.”
However, as ESPN reported, “With Team USA resting a number of starters (including Bryce Harper and Alex Bregman), emergency reliever Clayton Kershaw warming up during the eighth inning and DeRosa not pinch running for Paul Goldschmidt as Team USA mounted a comeback after falling behind 8-0, the perception that the team believed it had advanced took root as DeRosa’s comments spread on social media.”
Italy’s team, which is mostly made up of American major league ballplayers of Italian descent, roared to an 8-0 lead.
“This is one of the best days of my life,” Italy manager Francisco Cervelli, a 13-year major leaguer, said.
The most celebrated Team USA roster in baseball history is going to need some help to advance out of pool play in the #WorldBaseballClassic
Here’s how the Americans can still reach the quarterfinals after a stunning upset loss to Italy ⤵️https://t.co/PS62bD7XCk pic.twitter.com/NIFSELWSYn
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 11, 2026
“I’m proud of my guys. They’re young, but they play like they’ve been in the big leagues for 10 years. Their focus was there. And, you know, everybody in Italy should see this. We’re doing it for them, for the kids. It can happen. It’s possible.”
Team USA had been considered a favorite to win the championship.
“You always like having your destiny in your own hands, and we had it right in front of us,” Aaron Judge, Team USA’s captain, said.
“We knew we were focused on what we had to do today. Italy is a great team, and they definitely showed it today.”
“Now, we just need a little luck, and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
Sports Illustrated noted that if Team USA is eliminated, it would be the first time in six tournaments that the Americans did not at least reach the quarterfinals.
Team USA can continue its pursuit of the championship if Italy defeats Mexico. Italy would be 4-0, the U.S. 3-1, and Mexico 2-2.
team USA baseball team is sad
not just for this performance… they still could win the whole thing… but how is it possibly to radiate this little swag and aura
every other team is having the time of their lives, crying after wins, and this is the most corporate slop team ever
— Slightly Biased (@BiasedSlightly) March 11, 2026
If Mexico wins, all three teams would be 3-1, with a complex tie-breaking procedure in place to determine which team is eliminated.
How each team fares would be influenced by the number of runs scored in the game between Italy and Mexico, because runs allowed are part of the formula to determine which team advances.
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