Team USA and Team Canada to face off AGAIN — this time at already controversial World Baseball Classic

Team USA is set for another rivalry game against Team Canada, this time on Friday night in the World Baseball Classic, after significant controversy has already rattled American fans.

The matchup comes after the Americans were almost eliminated from the tournament, which would have been under the most embarrassing circumstances.

'This man belongs nowhere near Team USA in the future.'

Before the American side lost to Italy 8-6 on Tuesday, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa sparked headlines by appearing not to know the rules of the World Baseball Classic.

During an interview with the MLB Network's "Hot Stove," DeRosa said his team's "ticket" was already "punched to the quarterfinals."

However, that was not true. If Mexico had won its next game against Italy while scoring fewer than five runs in nine innings, Team USA would have been eliminated.

While there is no telling if DeRosa's alleged lack of knowledge around tournament rules affected his coaching strategy during the team's loss to the Italians, the team's tournament future was out of their hands when Italy played Mexico on Wednesday.

Luckily for the Americans — and DeRosa — the Italians clubbed their way to a 9-1 win, ensuring that Team USA would advance.

RELATED: NBA turns Atlanta Hawks strip-club night on its head: 'Canceling ... is the right decision'

DeRosa told reporters after the Tuesday loss that he had simply misspoken and was not unaware of the way teams are ranked in the standings.

"Yeah, I misspoke. I was on 'Hot Stove' with a couple buddies today and completely misread the calculations," DeRosa claimed. "We knew that Mexico was going to play Italy and then running all the numbers with, if we lost tonight, with the runs allowed and runs scored and outs. So I just misspoke."

Fans did not exactly believe DeRosa, with one New York Yankees fan saying he couldn't "fathom" how unbelievable it was that the Team USA manager "made the lineup today not knowing how the tournament works."

Another fan on X wrote, "This man belongs nowhere near Team USA in the future."

"This might be the biggest instance of coaching malpractice in the history of international USA sports," another viewer said in reaction to DeRosa's original comments.

RELATED: Charles Barkley defends Team USA White House visit — but says Trump needs to stop doing one thing

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

With those hijinks now in the rearview mirror, Team USA will play Team Canada Friday night in the quarterfinals at 8 p.m. ET in Daikin Park in Houston. The game marks the latest in an ongoing and inflamed rivalry between the two nations, which exploded during the Olympics in the men's and women's ice hockey events.

The United States beat Canada for the gold medal in both categories, which subsequently caused rage when the men's hockey team received a phone call from President Trump that contained a joke at the expense of the women's team.

Canadian media melted down and repeatedly questioned American players who play for Canadian teams about the phone call, asking them to apologize.

South Korea will begin the quarterfinals against the Dominican Republic at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday from LoanDepot Park in Miami. On Saturday, Puerto Rico plays Italy at 3 p.m. ET in Houston, then Venezuela plays Japan at 9 p.m. ET in Miami.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!