The first appearance of the Italian flag in the Confederations Cup meant that the Azzurri had a point to prove in the tournament.

The first few minutes were filled with fouls, as neither side had enough time to do something with the ball before the referee blew the whistle to temporarily stop play. But things soon settled down, and the teams were beginning to showcase some attacking football.

After twenty-five minutes, Bradley broke away and almost scored a goal against the run of play. But his finish was far from satisfactory. In a few moments, the designated hosts had another golden opportunity go one up, as Altidore could have, should have, but crucially, did not score.

The US hope of getting something out of this game was given a shot in the arm, when the trigger friendly referee sent off Clark for a mistimed challenge on Gattuso. Replays indicated that this was a harsh decision. With less than ten minutes to go before halftime, Bornstein scored a funny own goal, but it was ruled out as the assistant had already raised the flag, since Camoranesi was in an offside position.

Just before the halftime break, Altidore was fouled in the area and the referee was only too happy to point to the spot. Donovan stepped up and made no mistake. Incredibly, the US had taken the lead with a man down.

Marcello Lippi introduced some youthful energy into the experienced line-up, as Montolivo and Rossi came on to replace Camoranesi and Gattuso. This move paid off instantly, as he scored a scorcher from 30 yards out. A little later, De Rossi scored what could very well be the goal of the tournament, as he shot from 35 yards out and sent the swerving ball into the bottom corner.

Fans from the peninsula had something more to cheer about, when Rossi struck yet again during the dying moments of the game to put the victory beyond all doubt. As the referee blew the whistle, the world champions walked away the happier side.

USA 1-3 Italy
Donovan pen 41 (US), Rossi 58, 90+4 (I), De Rossi 72 (I)

USA: Howard; Bornstein (Kljestan 86), Onyewu, DeMerit, Spector; Dempsey, Clark, Bradley, Feilhaber (Beasley 72), Donovan; Altidore (Davies 66)

Italy: Buffon; Grosso, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, Zambrotta; Pirlo, De Rossi, Gattuso (Rossi 57); Camoranesi (Montolivo 57) Iaquinta, Gilardino (Toni 69)

Ref: Pozo (Chi)

Football Italiano