A wild and weird affair, besmirched by the worst refereeing I've seen in years. Italy, you may recall, beat Ghana convincingly earlier in the group round, while the USA ... well, let's just say they were nominated for deportation after their "performance" against the Czech Republic. The game began, and before anyone worked up a good sweat, Italian superstar Francesco Totti got a yellow card for an awful tackle from behind, a foul that ordinarily would have brought a stern talking-to this early in the game. Italy scored on a lovely head ball by Gilardino in the 22nd minute. Five minutes later, the score was tied on a freaky own-goal by Zaccardo. Almost immediately, Italian midfielder de Rossi received a direct red card for an elbow smash to Brian McBride's face, drawing blood. Italy were now reduced to playing with ten men and were showing frustration with not being able to get the upper hand in the game. Just as the first half was ending, the referee apparently felt he should even up the sides, and gave Mastroeni a red card for a late tackle that would not even have been a yellow in most games.

The second half was barely underway when Eddie Pope was given a second yellow card and sent off. Now the sides were ten for Italy and nine for the US, with most of the second half still to play. The referee continued to call fouls erratically, but at least left the rest of the players on the pitch. Somehow, the US hung on -- actually, they continued to attack right to the end, and kept a very respectable defense, even short-handed. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, giving the US a slim chance to survive the group round and advance. They'll have to beat the surprising Ghana side and hope for an Italian victory over the Czechs. It could happen.

The USA has mostly rehabilitated its reputation after their horrendous opening game. This is getting interesting.