Well, it was typical Italian procedure today as they held off a pesky Ghana side while looking thoroughly underwhelming, but in the end, falling down dramatically and flopping around just enough to earn the win. Shakespeare himself would appreciate such theatrics.
Andrea Pirlo put Italy ahead in the 40th minute and then, as one would expect, the Azzuri hung around lazily and played defense while displaying a stage presence to humble DeNiro. Sadly, Ghana should have been rewarded with a penalty kick late in the game but didn't receive it. Moments later a horrible defensive gaffe led to the second Italian goal by Vincenzo Iaquinta in the 83rd minute and that was that. To that point, Ghana looked as though they might equalize. Too bad. A draw here would have done wonders for the U.S. Alas, it wasn't meant to be and now a win over Italy is a necessity.
Which isn't impossible. Can we beat Italy if we play like we did today? No. No way in hell. Ben Roethlisberger has a better chance of receiving a new bike from Bill Cowher. But Italy was far from so impressive that beating them is out of the question. And I'll be honest. The U.S. can fade out of this tournament, but as long as we beat Italy I'll find a certain solace. Of course, Italy is unbeaten in 19 games, so I'm not holding ny breath.
So far, it's been rough going for African teams, who are now 0-3, though Togo and Tunisia have good opportunities to remedy this against South Korea and Saudi Arabia, respectively. Where art thou, Cameroon and Nigeria?
By the way, whoever says Italy isn't a collection of overly-dramatic crybabies, I offer you...
Wah!
Wah!
Wah!
Wah!
Wah!
