For all the heroics Vinnie Pasquantino has delivered for Team Italy on the field, his biggest mistake came in front of a microphone.

From dominating the hot favorite, Team USA, to securing their quarterfinal berth, to winning over Puerto Rico 8-6 to secure their first-ever semifinal berth, Italy is having a dream run this WBC. 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 Venezuela’s winning journey.

“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. 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 remarked following Saturday’s big QF win, snubbing Venezuela from the list.

Doesn’t it just feel like when Mark DeRosa ‘miscalculated’ and thought Team USA had advanced to the QFs before Italy got their biggest win in the nation’s history (8-6)? So, mistakes while giving a statement may not be that uncommon!

His record of 1-for-3 with one RBI, two walks, and two steals suddenly saw controversy after the comment. But that didn’t stop Venezuela!

Venezuela stunned defending champion Japan 8-5 in the 2026 World Baseball Classic quarterfinals. They overcame a 5-2 deficit with big home runs from Maikel Garcia and Wilyer Abreu. This victory marked Venezuela’s first semifinal appearance since 2009. And this was Japan’s first elimination before the semifinals, ending their 11-game winning streak.

Now, just like Italy, they could come off the tournament as an underdog.

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

But there is one fact about the Italian captain that may come as a surprise!

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. Per the new mandate in Italy, he couldn’t qualify for an Italian passport. Team Italy’s captain will lead his team to the WBC semifinal without 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.

The law affects the entire Italian baseball team, too.

Reportedly, except for three names (Sam Aldegheri, Claudio Scotti, and Gabriele Quattrini), 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.

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