U.S. ties Italy in World Cup

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – Bloodied but not beaten, the United States bounced back to hold Italy to a 1-1 tie Saturday night in an ugly World Cup game with three ejections, a disallowed American goal and wide-open play.

With thousands of fans in red, white and blue cheering the United States on a warm night, the Americans came out aggressive — and then hung on while playing most of the second half at a man disadvantage. Their reward was their first World Cup point in Europe.

U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller saved the Americans with a pair of point-blank stops on Alessandro Del Piero in the final 20 minutes.

"It was a total team effort and those guys bled today for our country and our team," Keller said.

The American team, harshly criticized for lackluster and nervous play in their opener, went to a corner of the field after the final whistle to salute their fans at Fritz-Walter-Stadion, a group roughly equal in size to supporters of the famous Azzurri, a three-time World Cup champion.

"We gave everything, but it was difficult after the second red card," captain Claudio Reyna said. "We gave everything at the end to get a point."

The result complicated a group that after the first games seemed clear.

Italy (1-0-1) leads Group E with four points, one ahead of the Czechs and Ghana (both 1-1) and three ahead of the Americans (0-0-1).

The United States, seemingly deflated after a 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic, now finds itself with a chance to advance to the second round if it beats Ghana on Thursday in its final first-round game.

For the United States to reach the round of 16, it must win, coupled with an Italian victory over the Czechs. Or there Italy would have to tie the Czechs along with a U.S. victory by a margin of several goals.

"It's very simple, we have to win," Reyna said. "We have a super chance now."

The draw marked a milestone in the history of U.S. soccer. The Americans were 0-8 in World Cup games played in Europe, and they had never gotten as much as a single point in Europe in any match against the big five nations of Italy, England, Germany, Spain and France.

By the end, players were exhausted from running in the wide-open space left by the ejections of Americans Eddie Pope and Pablo Mastroeni, and Italian Daniele De Rossi. The United States, which brought on Jimmy Conrad after Pope was sent off, ended the game in a formation of four defenders, three midfielders and one forward while the Azzurri used three forwards to apply pressure.

But thanks greatly to Keller, the Americans didn't buckle.

Alberto Gilardino put Italy ahead in the 22nd minute. The Americans tied the score in the 27th when a U.S. free kick was knocked into the net by defender Cristian Zaccardo, who was trying to clear the ball before it reached Brian McBride.

The departures began a minute later.

De Rossi received a red card from Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda for elbowing McBride in the face, a vicious foul that left McBride bloody.

"Brian has, I think, a few titanium plates in his face already," Keller said, "so you know he's going to stick his head in places where most people would really prefer not to."

But the sides evened out in the 45th when American midfielder Pablo Mastroeni was ejected for a sliding takedown against Andrea Pirlo, cleating the midfielder's ankle.

Pope was the next to go. He received a yellow card in the 11th minute for a foul on Gilardino, then was ejected in the second minute of the second half for sliding into Gilardino. While he touched the ball first, he crashed into the forward's leg and Larrionda didn't hesitate to show the yellow, then the red card.

For a few brief seconds, it appeared the United States had gone ahead in the 70th minute, when second-half sub DaMarcus Beasley slotted the ball in off goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. But with U.S. coach Bruce Arena pumping an arm on the sideline, the whistle blew for an offside call on McBride.

Keller then made the save of the night, jumping to his right to punch away a short shot by a wide-open Del Piero, who had gotten a flick from Pirlo. Keller made another outstanding stop on Del Piero in the 79th.

American defender Carlos Bocanegra nearly gave Italy a goal in the second half, putting a clearance attempt just over the U.S. crossbar.

Pope and Mastroeni will miss the game with Ghana.