Team USA won't control its destiny at the 2026 World Baseball Classic after Italy's upset, but the Americans and their MLB stars can qualify for the next round with some help from their Pool B opponents.

The United States received the result it needed to advance in the World Baseball Classic as Italy took down Mexico on Wednesday night.

The U.S. is done with pool play at Houston’s Daikin Park and needs the Italians to beat Mexico Wednesday night to be guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals. If Mexico beats Italy, the three teams will be knotted at 3-1 and the winners will be determined by a tiebreaker, with the team that allowed the most runs eliminated.

A day later than its manager originally proclaimed, the United States punched its ticket to the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic.

The eight teams advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Baseball Classic were finalized on Wednesday.

Team USA’s path to the quarterfinals in the 2026 World Baseball Classic now depends on the outcome of Italy vs. Mexico and a complicated tiebreaker formula.

If Mexico beats Italy on Wednesday, there would be a three-way tie atop Pool B. Team USA can advance if it wins a tiebreaker. Team USA, Mexico and Italy would all finish 3-1 overall and 1-1 against each other. This is where the complicated World Baseball Classic tiebreaker rules come into play.

Aaron Judge and Team USA suffered their first loss of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, falling to Italy by the final score of 8-6.

The president of the Italian baseball federation is considering Italy's upset over the United States at the World Baseball Classic a miracle.