US vs. Italy Recap

Editor's Note: SBG's soccer expert Andrew continues his coverage of the US in World Cup play. Here is his writeup of the US/Italy match. Thanks, Andrew!

Expert? I'm flattered, but I'm just a normal guy trying to keep up the proud tradition of "half-baked crap". Where to start? I suppose with the good news would be the place. The US came out gunning. Anyone who saw the US-Czech match noticed how flat and uninspired the US played. It was quite obvious the team learned from their mistakes, because they ran right at the Italians and kept on coming. Even down a man 9-10, the US was getting good pressure on the Italians. Had the US not gotten that good pressure on, the Italians would have turned the last 30 minutes into target practice. The other good news is that the US still has a chance to advance.
The bad news - the red cards. Eddie Pope and Pablo Mastroeni are automatically suspended for the game against Ghana for recieving red cards, which will drastically change the US defense. There's no real point in complaning about the cards (which I will do anyway later) because what's been called has been called and Bruce Arena will just have to deal with it and make his roster the best he can.

Bruce Arena changed up the lineup from the game against the Czechs, but left Eddie Johnson out. I was very surprised at this, and I would have been upset had I been in Eddie Johnson's position. He got rewarded for being the only US player who looked like he cared about trying against the Czechs by being sat on the bench. Arena did change Eddie Lewis out for Carlos Bocanegra and DaMarcus Beasely out for Clint Dempsey, who, as I cannot stress enough, is a heck of a rapper. Eddie Lewis out was a bit of a surprise for me. I didn't feel Eddie Lewis did anything better or worse than anyone else on the defense against the Czechs to warrant being subbed out. DaMarcus being subbed out could have been seen coming by Stevie Wonder. I was really excited about getting to see Clint Dempsey play. He's either supremely confident in his own abilities or too oblivious to know any better, but he will attack anyone and everyone when he gets the ball, which is exactly what the US needed coming into the game.

This time, it was the opponent being awarded a very early card, with Totti getting a yellow in the first 5 minutes for a tackle on Clint Dempsey. Already, the US has more offense going than it did during all of their first game. The US got a few free kicks near the Italian goal, but Bobby Convey put one into the wall and one over the crossbar, neither one really threatened going in. Eddie Pope got his first yellow card in the 21st minute. The Italians were working on a break away, and Eddie Pope took down his man. It was a smart yellow, if there is such a thing. Two minutes later, the Italians got another free kick out wide of the box. The ball was curled in very nicely and headed smartly home by Alberto Gilardino. Eddie Pope tried to play the offside trap, but it looked like he was the only one on the defense who knew that was the plan. I'm not sure who exactly was supposed to be marking Gilardino because two or three Italians lost their men.

The US reacted not by rolling over, but by fighting back. This time the team responded like they were a injured bear, instead of a horse with a broken leg. (How's that for an analogy, huh?) Minutes later, the US gained a free kick near the box again, and instead of trying to put it in, Claudio Reyna lofted it towards Brian McBride. In his attempt to clear the ball, Cristian Zaccardo put it into his own net. I'm not sure how to describe the own goal, because it was definately the weirdest own goal I've ever seen. Most own goals are because a shot ricochets off of a defender who just happens to be in the wrong spot and can't get out of the way fast enough. With this one, the ball was behind Zaccardo and he reached his foot back, and the ball knicked off of his heel and in. There wasn't really a reason for the bad touch other than he got himself out of position. It wasn't deflected on goal and he was doing all he could to keep it out. It was going wide until he touched it. Whatever, I'll take it. After the Czech game, I wasn't going to complain. All square at 1 apiece.

In continuing the craziest 5 minutes of soccer of the World Cup thus far, Daniele DeRossi was sent off with a straight red card after elbowing Brian McBride in the face. McBride was a bloddy mess. It looked pretty gross. McBride was given a quick fix on the sideline, and would receive 3 stitches at halftime. DeRossi apologized after the game, saying "I spread my arms and caught him. I'm sorry. I certainly didn't want to hurt him and didn't want to give him an elbow, and I'm sorry for my team mates." DeRossi also reportedly sought out McBride in the lockerroom and apologized in person as well. The US played the next 20 or so minutes up 11 men to 10. Just before the halftime whistle, Pablo Mastroeni was given a red card for a hard tackle on Andrea Pirlo. It was a hard tackle, to be sure, but nowhere near worthy of a red card. A yellow perhaps, but definately not red. The teams entered half time tied in score at 1-1 and men on the field at 10-10.

Just two minutes back from the half, Eddie Pope received his second yellow card, which carries with it an automatic red card. Both Pope and Mastroeni are suspended for Thursday's game, which will drastically change the US defense. Pope's second yellow was a crap call, but he's got to know better. The ref has been calling a really bad game thus far, and he's already got one yellow. Pope has got to play smarter than that and not put himself in a position where he might get carded again. As much as it pains me to say it, it might not be such a bad thing that Eddie is out against Ghana. Eddie Pope has been my favorite player for 10 years (but that's another story for another day), but I have to admit he looks like he's slipping. It hurts seeing your favorite not be the player he used to be, but it doesn't look like Eddie can play international-level soccer anymore. Remind me, I'll talk about the future of the team more during my final wrapup.

At this point, the US is down 9 men to 10 against a favored Italian side, and will be for the next 45 minutes. The two red cards came about 5 minutes of game time apart, accounting for the 2nd craziest 5 minutes of the World Cup thus far. It's almost ridiculous to suggest that the US would be able to maintain the 1-1 tie. I'm sure a split screen view of the bar I'm in and a bar in Rome would have been exact opposites. I had my head in my hands, staring at the floor. The US had been playing so well, only to now find themselves down a man after having just been up a man. The reversal of fortunes was heartbreaking. Any Italian fan must have thought the win was assured at this point. But the Italians forgot one thing - they still needed to score.

For the next 45 minutes, the US played some of the best soccer in its history. This game is now required viewing for all of those soccer naysayers. If you can watch this game and not be genuinely proud of the job done by the American side, you have to be Italian. The 8 American field players outhustled, out fought, out everythinged their 9 Italian counterparts. The 9th American, Kasey Keller, put together a highlight reel of absolutely world-class saves, repeatedly denying the attacking Italians.

The US even nearly managed to score one of their own. DaMarcus Beasely, who'd been subbed in for an ineffectual Bobby Convey, rifled one near post, but it was disallowed because Brian McBride was offside in a position that affected the play. He was in the goalkeeper's line of sight, which prevented him from seeing the ball cleanly. Had McBride been offside near the far post and out of the way, the goal would have been allowed to stand. It was the correct call (for a change) but so disheartening. The entire pub erupted. People were high-fiving, chanting "Ole!"... and then it was waved off. The second heartbreaking moment of the half. Except the players didn't let it get them down. They kept playing their hearts out, and soon the pub's collective spirit was raised as the clock wound down.

The last 10 minutes were a desperate push by the Italians to score, but the Americans held firm and repeatedly denied the attack. When the final whistle sounded, it was as though the US had won. There was a palpatable feeling of pride and happiness in the pub. Given all that had happened throughout the game, the result was better than anyone could have hoped for for the United States. Losing would have meant the end of the World Cup. Instead, now the US has a real chance of gaining a berth in the knockout stages. The US was helped out enormously by Ghana's win over the Czech Republic earlier in the day. Here's the current standings. Remember, it is the top two teams in points who advance. 3 points for a win, 1 for a tie, 0 for a loss.

Now, if the US beats Ghana and Italy beats the Czech Republic on Thursday - both of which are very possible outcomes - then the US will be through.