Italy v Ghana

Azzurri v Black Stars

After the US came out so flat, I really didn't have much enthusiasm to see how good the rest of the opposition was. Fortunately, they're not that good, but both still played better than the US. Some highlights included a stupid, horribly executed clearance by a guy named Mensah, failing to live up to his name, and Ghana being denied two penalties against an Italian team full of players being questioned for fixing games. Croatia can say something about that... two goals called back against Italy in JSK'02 for phantom offsides meant Croatia lost 2-1 and missed the second round.

I was definitely impressed by the midfield play of Ghana, and their ability to get the ball into the last third, especially when Painstil faked out DeRossi so bad he actually fell down. Less impressive was their inability to make the last pass or finish. Players taking too much time dribbling around selfishly looking for their own shot and letting Italy's defense get set led to lots of long shots, mostly over the bar. Not only did the Black Stars fail to make the last pass, they often failed to look for it... Michael Essien (touted every time he touched the ball as Africa's Most Expensive Footballer) while productive and dangerous, really looked like he wanted to put on a one man show and never give up the ball, and nobody's going to do that against Italy. Well, maybe Thierry Henry.

Italy, true to form, gave up a lot of possession but stifled a lot of action in their end, but are absolutely lethal on set pieces and on the break. Their first goal wasn't a set piece but it was a shot by Andrea Pirlo from 40 yards out, through heavy traffic, just inside the post. On the plus side, the US isn't likely to offer the same kinds of opportunities through boneheaded mistakes, like in the 83rd minute when Sammy Kuffour played the ball back to his keeper too gently and too far out, and Vincenzo Iaquinta nicked it and scored on an empty net. Richard Kingston really came out of his goal way too much and flubbed too many plays, something I doubt we'll see from Kasey Keller.

Francesco Totti showed some nasty balls on free kicks, but went out early after getting his leg stomped on. This was probably as a precautionary measure, since he's recovering from a broken leg, but he may not be full strength or willing to chance it, like a frail Beckham ducking out of challenges in 2002. Nevertheless, to beat Italy, the US will have to play better than they did against the Czechs.

Italy 2-0 Ghana
Pirlo '40
Iaquinta '83