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USA beats Italy for first time

Clint Dempsey USA Italy (Getty Images)

By FRANCO PANIZO

The U.S. men's national team entered its match against Italy having never beaten the Azzurri, going 0-7-3 in games dating back to 1934.

That winless streak ended on Wednesday.

The Americans defeated Italy, 1-0, for the first time off a second-half goal from Clint Dempsey in front of small crowd at Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris in Genoa. The goal came in the 55th minute when Jozy Altidore brought down a cross from left back Fabian Johnson and played a short pass to Dempsey, who hit a low shot past Gianluigi Buffon for his 25th international goal.

The result marked the U.S. team's fourth straight victory, their second consecutive on European soil and Jurgen Klinsmann's fifth as U.S. head coach. The United States also improved their record under Klinsmann to 5-4-1 with the win.

Playing in their new, blue away jerseys, the Americans put forth a defensively-disciplined performance playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation. The Italians were whistled for offsides nine times in a game that saw Klinsmann deploy Johnson at left back in his third appearance for the United States.

The hosts still managed to enjoy the majority of the chances in the game, including on a close range effort from Thiago Motta that was kick-saved by Tim Howard in the fourth minute.

Unfortunately for the Italians, the U.S. defense bent but never broke.

Johnson's surging runs forward, Howard's saves and Michael Bradley's command of the midfield helped blank Andrea Pirlo and the hosts in a first half that saw Italy repeatedly try to beat the U.S. defense with balls played in over the top.

The frustration for Italy continued in the second half, as Bradley and central midfielder partner Maurice Edu closed down the space in front of the back four. The United States also benefited from the energy of substitutes Terrence Boyd, who made his international debut in the match, and Jonathan Spector.

That defensive effort allowed the Americans to put together some nice passing sequences against the run of play, including on the decisive one in the 55th minute.

On that play, Bradley hit Johnson with a pass down the left flank before Johnson pinpointed Altidore with a right-footed cross. Altidore took a touch on the ball and then fed Dempsey just inside the top of the penalty area for the winner.

Comments

  1. I think Michael Bradley and Stuart Holden will be a thing of beauty in the midfield. Bradley has shown a major improvement with his decision making and tactical awareness. His motor and tackling were never in question. Likewise, while I was impressed with Edu’s ability to break up the attack, Holden is a guy that (before he was injured) led the premier league in tackles among midfielders. That is particularly impressive given his abilities with the ball, set pieces, creatively, etc. I think Bradley and Holden together would be a nightmare for opposing midfields, not only in terms of what they themselves can bring offensively, but also in terms of their ability to break up the rhythm of the opposition. Edu has made a strong case for a starting role in the event of another Holden injury, however, especially alongside MB. That is the best our CM corps have looked in a while. Clearly Landon Donovan is our starting RM.

    Defensively, I love Fabian Johnson on the left. Until Cherundolo retires from international duty, the RB spot is his. A healthy Chandler would likely push Johnson into the LM role, as I think Dempsey will hang on to the #10 role under the forward. As for the CB position, I would really like to see Danny Williams there if Onyewu is hurt. I think he is a fine defensive player with good athleticism and a good amount of ability on the ball. I think he would compliment Bocanegra extremely well, and we really need an alternative to Clarence Goodson. I am not a Goodson hater, but faster teams always seem to give us a problem when they play a lob ball over the top, as we don’t have the speed to fend off the attack. This was apparent in WC2010 as well (which Clarence wasn’t a part of). It would be nice to have some speed in that position, and it seems Williams plays there for his club if I am not mistaken.

    Here is my envisioned lineup. Thoughts from the SBI community?

    ——————Altidore————–

    Johnson———-Dempsey———Donovan

    ————Bradley——-Holden———

    Chandler—-Bocanegra—Williams—-Cherundolo

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  2. Great effort by all and was really happy to see Specs come in and play so well. The Birmingham move has been great for him and his versatility can be a big asset to the MNT. Hopefully he will continue to play so well and grow his confidence.

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  3. Bradley has been a beast for a long time. Glad many USA fans are finally waking up. He does all the things that NEVER SHOW UP IN THE STAT LINE. Doesn’t complain, doesn’t beat his chest, just gets the job done. Flashy? No way. Prime time player? Absolutely.

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  4. The 1st half we played better then we ever have against a big team with Bradley. We actually had some possession. After we scored in the 2nd half we fell into the bunker, which I did not like. I thought there were opportunities to continue to go forward, that is a mind set we need to change.

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  5. Put Beasley in… its debatable, but you may have a slight edge… course, by 2014 he’ll be pretty well spent and Shea will be behind in his development. He should not be THE guy, but glad to see he is getting some play in tough games/environments- it will do much to help his development and the team will be better for it.

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  6. It’s OK to make a point, but when Lalas repeats it 10 times, his bias becomes evident. Well…. lets be honest, if this was Bradley, we would not have been playing Italy in Genoa… more likely to have been say….Guatemala in Foxborough or something. And instead of Johnson making runs up the left side, it would have been Bornstein. Dempsey would not have been up top, he’d have been on the right. We would not have seen the calm passing out of the back, we would have seen it booted over the top.

    I am not a BB hater. I think he did a vey solid job, was the right man at the time, but it was also time for change.

    It is 7 mos into his tenure, we haven’t seen close to the full team together and we just beat Italy in Italy.Lalas was griping about results a month into the process… well… there 4 straight and a big win and the dude is still griping. You’re not going to see a miraculous turn around, but I do see more ambition. More imagination in selections, huge improvements in the over all structure of US soccer, and a team that appears to be thinking. The defense is WORLDS better. Klinsman is not a messiah, but give credit where it is due.

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  7. It wasn’t Shea’s best game, but I thought he was pretty decent. People are reacting to maybe a few sloppy giveaways. He was active, at times dangerous and even made some good blocks and defensive plays. Maybe a 6/10. I feel good about the kid going forward.

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  8. Looked like four incorrect offside calls having watched the replay. Not a very good linesman. It was a noticeable problem. However, none were important. Howard saved two of the resulting shots anyway and the other two weren’t dangerous opportunities.

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  9. I agree. I thought in the 2nd half there were some more opportunities for us to go forward, but we held up. I wish we would not do that and go for the 2nd goal. I disagree with Lalas that we are just a defensive team, we need to play with confidence, that we can attack.

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  10. Shea is still pretty raw, but I think Johnson at left back, and Chandler at right would be pretty solid. and they would give us the attacking wingers that we need when we attack.

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  11. I’m possibly a bigger Holden fan than most, and more importantly a big Holden believer.

    If there is any silver lining to his lay-off, it may be that it has kept a bit of mileage off of the odometer. He’ll be fit and strong for years to come.

    The types of injuries that he has had have not been due to any inherent frailty — those muggings would have floored the toughest UFC competitors. He hasn’t had any injuries that would fundamentally take away from his speed, agility, or skill.

    That said, I agree that like all players under the Klinni Regime, he has to earn his way back up to the top of the depth chart.

    I do believe he can and will.

    His biggest task in his recovery has got to be to tackle smarter – and avoid the situations that have gotten him injured in the past.

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  12. I’m not sold on Shea, and I don’t think Gooch’s body will hold up that long. (I hope I’m wrong, because I hate to see a career end due to injury – in any sport.)

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  13. Ever since the game–can’t remember which one, one of Chandler’s first matches with the Yanks–I saw Chandler and Lichaj overlapping one another one the right flank, I’ve dreamed of finding a left-footed left back to allow both Eric and Tim to play on the right. In my imagination, I see a World Cup lineup featuring Lichaj at fullback behind Chandler in the midfield. Either can drop back to defend; both can get forward and put in the cross or take a shot.

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  14. If you honestly STILL think Michael Bradley isn’t by far our best option there, then you just need to stop watching soccer or get a clue.

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  15. agree with malkin. boyd looked lost. he had one nice move. everything else was embarrassing. Worse was watching him fix his sock and star gaze at Italian players on the ball only 15 feet away in the last ten minutes.

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  16. How are a lot of people putting Stu Bolden in XI’s like this? I like Stu as much as the next guy, but he’s been sidelined a long time and must earn a place back. I’m skeptical that he can recover to what his potential seemed to be a few years ago.

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  17. Why so much Brek bashing in here?

    Yes he still gives the ball away a little too much, but his athleticism and marauding runs without the ball are extremely valuable. He also whips in good crosses. He showed both of these at times today. Brek is going to be a big time player.

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  18. Dempsey is still man of match. Fabian seems like it cuz such an upgrade from recent LBs. Dont want to beat up Bradley but he does lose his man a lot on crosses and got lucky several times tonight. He is a key figure for us but needs to tighten up that part of his game.

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  19. I like this for qualifying….

    Altidore

    Demps

    Shea Bradley Edu Donovan

    Johnson Boca Goodsen Dolo

    Howard

    2014

    Altidore

    Demps

    Shea Bradley Holden Donovan

    Johnson Onyewu Whitbred Chandler

    Howard

    What say you?

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  20. Man of the Match… JK. Only a couple of days to organize this effort, changes at the last minute, gives you a clue that his vision is being translated on the field into team effort. While a few may not end up being starters, or are in the wrong postition, I like the fact that depth is being built. Also, lets give MB lots of credit for taking a chance in Italy – what may have been a big risk on his part may pay off in really helping to move his game to the next level – love that he had the guts to take a chance.

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  21. “Edu was a big help to Bradley today”

    That was Edu’s job. Did you expect MB90 to take on the Italian MF all by himself?

    Your prejudice is showing.

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  22. williams was in for his defense. This became clear once they took the lead.

    He gave the defense another outlet when under pressure because he is very good at holding the ball on the sidelines.

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  23. so proud of our boys! best defensive game ive seen from them yet against a hungry quality opponent. too bad we couldnt see a bit more from boyd though

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  24. Not that you inferred this but it needs to be said to show where I am coming from – I never hated BB and was one of his backers as I was (and still am) his son’s. OK so JK’s work in progress is still a work in progress – I’ll give you that and even he will. One thing that cannot be missed is that our pressing, shape and combination play has improved. It could very well be that we were capable of this and just failed to see it for such a long time that it now seems new. Perhaps. But if that’s the case then it shows that BB was not getting the team to play as well as it is right now. We all felt the staleness of things around and after the GC – a change needed to be made and US Soccer made one. New chapter, and now we’re moving on.

    BB is gone. He’s moved on and is doing the business with Egypt and I fully support him and wish him all the success he well deserves. Maybe JK gets this team doing what he wants and maybe not. Time will tell. But it’s his reign now and he deserves a shot to imprint and execute his vision. When the Lalases of the world keep harping on it, it does nothing but appear to undermine the efforts of the new coach, if not seem bitter and petty. But that’s just me.

    That said, my initial reason to respond in the first place was Luis grading the game as “poor” – one in which we gain a result against Italy in Italy. I don’t care who the coach is, I feel like that’s just an unfair rating for a job well done.

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  25. ——-Howard
    Dolo Onyewu Boca Chandler
    —–Bradley Holden—
    Donovan——–Johnson
    ——–Deuce——
    ——-Jozy——

    I ultimately like Johnson at leftback, but I like Chandler playing LB and Johnson pushed forward more than I like Shea playing LW and Johnson a LB.

    Dolo still needs to be on the field.

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  26. WC 2014 Brazil Starting XI

    —Howard—
    Chandler—Boca—Gooch—Johnson
    —Bradley—
    Donovan——Holden——-Shea
    Dempsey—-Altidore

    What do ya think?

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  27. Two of our best attacking players, johnson and donovan, had to play in the back or missed the game entirely.

    Not sure what you were expecting if you weren’t happy with the way we played today.

    Results be damned, this was a confident, composed outing against a world power on their home soil.

    Reply

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