MIAMI – Team Italy has heard the jabs. They understand that people look at them not as an Italian ballclub, but a group of guys from America masquerading as an Italian team. But this team doesn’t care.

Thousands of people have protested in Italy against wars in the Middle East and proposed judicial reforms by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Italy’s national football team have failed to qualify for the past two World Cups. As fraught followers of the Azzurri will be grimly aware, their men’s side must navigate the play-offs in March to avoid missing a third consecutive tournament. Yet while the country’s most iconic sporting side have endured a turbulent few years, another Italian team have just made history. In their second ...