World Cup - Italy 1-1 USA

There were no empty spaces in the stands, but there were plenty on the pitch, in a game which saw more sendings off than goals. Plus there was the small matter of a disallowed goal, an own goal, some excellent saves and an enraged coach, in a game that can be best described as mayhem! With all the chaos going on, its was hard to see who the better team was, but at the end of the day, the Americans will be a lot happier with their point than their Italian opponents, in a result which leaves Group E wide open.

The Italians took the lead after 22 minutes. Alberto Gilardino headed home Francesco Totti's cross to put the Italians in front.

However, it didn't stay that way for long, as the Americans got an equaliser 5 minutes later, courtesy of an own goal. Reading midfielder Bobby Convey fired a free kick into the box, and Cristian Zaccardo somehow managed to turn it into the net to bring the score level.

The World Cup hit a new low about a minute later. Danielle de Rossi was rightfully given his marching orders following a disgraceful elbow in the face of Brian McBride. The fact that he then pleaded his innocence defied belief! The referee rightfully showed him a red card. Luckily for the Americans, McBride wasn't injured, despite having blood all over his face and his shirt. He was off the pitch for a couple of minutes before returning to see out the rest of the match.

There was another red card shown just before half time. The USA levelled the game in terms of players on the pitch, when Pablo Mastroeni was given a red card for a sliding lunge on Andrea Pirlo.

With neither side able to score any more goals in the first half, the sides went into the break deadlocked at a goal a piece.

Even more drama followed early in the second half. Eddie Pope became the third player to recieve a red card, which left the USA with just 9 players.

This left the game wide open. The match was no longer about tactics, more about stamina and determination to get something out of the match.

With 65 minutes gone, substitute Damarcus Beasely thought he had given the USA the lead. His shot was fumbled in by Buffon, but was disallowed after Brain McBride was judged to be offside. This left the American coach, Bruce Arena, fuming on the touchline. He had clearly lost his temper.

With 73 minutes gone, a senstional save by Kasey Keller in the American goal may just have kept them in the competetion. His excellent reflex save from Allesandro Del Piero's shot was one of the best saves of the competition so far.

The remaining minutes felt like injury time, with both sides struggling and pushing forward looking for a winning goal. Towards the end of the match, the American players looked exhausted, and gave up on attacking, and just tried to defend and get a point out of the match.

This paid off, and on the whole the USA will be pleased with the point. The Italians, on the other hand, won't be too happy with theirs, in a game which they would've wanted to win to increase their chances of finishing top of Group E, and potentially avoiding Brazil in the last 16. As a result of this draw, Group E is left wide open, and any of the four teams can realistically qualify. Italy are top with 4 points, the Czech Republic and Ghana have 3 points each, but the Czechs have a higher goal difference, and the USA are at the bottom with a single point. This will ensure a tense climax to the group, and its anyones guess who will get through to the next round.

Italy 1-1 USA

Gilardino 22 .. Zaccardo OG 28