Italy, the traditional soccer powerhouse, should now be called a baseball powerhouse rather than a soccer nation. In soccer, Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups and faces the risk of missing a third consecutive tournament, having been pushed to playoffs for this year's North and Central American World Cup. In contrast, the country has written a "semifinal miracle" at the World Baseball Classic (WBC), baseball's equivalent of the World Cup.
Italy defeated Puerto Rico 8-6 in the WBC quarterfinals at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas, on March 14 (local time). Italy, whose previous best result was the quarterfinals in the 2023 tournament, advanced to the semifinals for the first time in history. This is the same Italy that lost 3-9 to Japan in the quarterfinals three years ago.
Italy will compete against Venezuela for a spot in the finals at loanDepot Park in Florida on March 16. Venezuela defeated Japan 8-5 on the same day.
While Italian soccer is famous for its defensive "catenaccio" style, its baseball team is offense-oriented. Italy, which ranked second overall with 12 home runs in the group stage, showed cohesion by scoring 8 runs on 8 hits despite hitting no home runs in this game. Trailing 0-1, Italy scored 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning, then created another "big inning" with 4 runs in the fourth when the score was 2-4 to seize the momentum. Eighth-place hitter and catcher JJ Dorazio (LA Angels minor league) was responsible for 3 RBIs alone with a 2-RBI double and a sacrifice fly.
Most players on the Italian national team are Italian Americans. Many of them have never even set foot in Italy. The WBC rule allowing players to participate based on the nationality of their parents or grandparents is one of the main factors behind Italy's surprising run. Still, their performance is noteworthy, going 5-0 through the quarterfinals, including a victory over the United States, the birthplace of baseball, in the group stage.
Superstar Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers), who led Japan to victory and was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the 2023 tournament, packed his bags after the quarterfinals. This is the first time Japan has been eliminated in the quarterfinals.
