Italy A Gilardino 22 1-1 (1-1) USA C Zaccardo 27 o.g.   Bookings: F Totti 5 G Zambrotta 70     Bookings: E Pope 21   Sent off: D De Rossi 28     Sent off: P Mastroeni 45   Sent off: E Pope 47 ITALYUSA Possession 54% 46% Shots on target 4 3 Shots off target 6 6 Corners 7 3 Fouls 13 22

Italy 01 G Buffon 02 C Zaccardo (54 A Del Piero ) 13 A Nesta 05 F Cannavaro 19 G Zambrotta 20 S Perrotta 21 A Pirlo 04 D De Rossi 10 F Totti (35 G Gattuso ) 9 L Toni (61 V Iaquinta ) 11 A Gilardino Subtitutes 14 M Amelia, 17 S Barone, 06 A Barzagli, 16 M Camoranesi, 07 A Del Piero, 08 G Gattuso, 03 F Grosso, 15 V Iaquinta, 18 F Inzaghi, 23 M Materazzi, 22 M Oddo, 12 A Peruzzi USA 18 K Keller 06 S Cherundolo 22 O Onyewu 23 E Pope 03 C Bocanegra 08 C Dempsey (62 D Beasley ) 04 P Mastroeni 10 C Reyna 15 B Convey (52 J Conrad ) 20 B McBride 21 L Donovan Subtitutes 02 C Albright, 17 D Beasley, 12 G Berhalter, 11 B Ching, 13 J Conrad, 19 M Hahnemann, 01 T Howard, 09 E Johnson, 07 E Lewis, 05 J O'Brien, 14 B Olsen, 16 J Wolff Ref: Jorge Larrionda Att: 46000

"The officials were rubbish. This is the greatest football tournament in the world and they were not up to the job. Bruce Arena got his tactics wrong against the Czech Republic but he did his homework here and Italy couldn't dictate the game. And you have to give the back four of the nine so much credit - I hope they get a day off tomorrow."
Chris Waddle, BBC Five Live Sport

FULL-TIME: The result means Italy go top and the USA stay bottom of Group E, but there will be all to play for after an exceptionally hard-working display by the USA.

90 + 2 mins: The USA are not being stretched to breaking point or pushed to the limit. Ashton-under-Lyne born Simone Perrotta whips a cross in from the right but Kasey Keller claims.

90 mins: The match is now being played exclusively in the American half and it is finally serious backs against the wall stuff. Alberto Gilardino glances a header wide under pressure from Steve Cherundolo. The USA will have to hold on for three more minutes.

89 mins: Jim Conrad holds up Vincenzo Iaquinta on the right but concedes a corner. Italy waste it after Fabio Cannavaro commits a foul.

87 mins: Vincenzo Iaquinta misses another glorious chance to wrap up the win. Neat passing threatens to unravel the Americans but the substitute fluffs his contact with Alessandro Del Piero's cross and the USA clear.

84 mins: Andrea Pirlo threads a delightful pass through the American defensive line to leave Vincenzo Iaquinta a one-on-one against Kasey Keller, but the Italian striker shows the touch of a pinball machine and the ball bounces off him through to the keeper.

82 mins: Referee Jorge Larrionda of Uruguay still has 10 minutes or so to make history. Never before have four men been sent off in a World Cup finals match.

80 mins: The shaven-headed Alessandro Del Piero forces another good save from Kasey Keller, firing a shot in from distance which is beaten away.

79 mins: Steve Cherundolo bamboozles Andrea Pirlo playing the ball one way and going the other. He collects it again and floats a cross from the right to the back post for Brian McBride, but the striker cannot hit the target with his header.

76 mins: The majority of the Italian play is going through the tireless Andrea Pirlo. He looks out on his legs but still clearly has something in them as he over-hits a cross out of play.

75 mins: It is easy to forget the USA have one man less. They are playing with cool composure. There's none of this backs against the wall you won't get us out of our half stuff for Bruce Arena's boys.

73 mins: A quite sensational save keeps the USA in the game. Andrea Pirlo clips a chip over the American rearguard but Kasey Keller, at full stretch to his right, claws away Alessandro Del Piero's toe-poked volley.

70 mins: Gianluca Zambrotta's at the other end of the pitch now, conceding a free-kick for a shove on Steve Cherundolo and receiving a yellow card. It evens up the red and yellow count at three each.

69 mins: Gianluca Zambrotta unleashes a shot from distance which arrows just wide of Kasey Keller's left upright.

66 mins: Carlos Bocanegra crashes into Simone Perrota and the Italian, who was born in England, requires lengthy treatment on the touchline. After having an ice pack on his backside he gets back on the field.

65 mins: Gianluigi Buffon fumbles DaMarcus Beasley's rifled shot from the left and the ball's in the net. But American delight is cut short as it is ruled out for offside. Was Brian McBride active or passive? The referee clearly reckons active. Bruce Arena seems to be assuring everyone within range McBride was passive.

63 mins: Landon Donovan runs at the Italian defence before releasing Brian McBride on the left, but he cuts across the ball and shoots wide.

62 mins: Bruce Arena makes a second change, DaMarcus Beasley replacing the impressive Clinton Dempsey.

61 mins: Luca Toni goes off for Vincenzo Iaquinta for Italy's last change.

60 mins: American shouts for a handball are waved away after the ball bounces up on to Alessandro Nesta's arm from Oguchi Onyewu's cross. At the other Andrea Pirlo plays in Simone Perrotta but he fires over from the angle.

59 mins: The ball's ballooning about the USA box and doesn't come down soon enough for Luca Toni to get a decent shot in before it is cleared.

56 mins: What's going on on the tactics chalkboards? Italy look to be playing a 3-4-2, while the USA have opted for the lesser-spotted 4-3-1.

54 mins: Fabio Cannavaro clips Clinton Dempsey on the touchline. This referee could give anything but the Italian skipper escapes without a card of any colour. Italy step up their attacking options with Alessandro Del Piero replacing Cristian Zaccardo.

53 mins: Carlos Bocanegra heads Andrea Pirlo's free-kick on to his own crossbar and out for a corner. Nothing comes from the corner.

52 mins: New Yorker Bruce Arena, who has four Italian grandparents, makes a tactical change with Jim Conrad, a holding midfielder, replacing Bobby Convey.

50 mins: Fabio Cannvaro is off...but only on a stretcher to receive some treatment to his leg. The skipper looks in a bad way but soon returns.

49 mins: USA coach Bruce Arena is prowling the touchline and clearly wants an argument with any Fifa official in sight. It is the fourth time three men have been sent off in a World Cup finals match. The other matches? Brazil v Czechoslovakia (1938), Brazil v Hungary (1954) and Denmark v South Africa (1998).

PLAYER RATER: Should he stay or should he go? 36% said Pope deserved to be sent off, 64% said he didn't.

47 mins: RED CARD
The Uruguayan referee is throwing his cards around like confetti. Eddie Pope catches Alberto Gilardino and receives a second booking and his marching orders.

2102 BST: The action resumes with Italy getting the ball rolling.

2100 BST: Italy are out first. If it remains a draw at the full-time whistle all four teams in Group E will have a chance of qualifying for the second stage in the last round of group matches.

PLAYER RATER Which red card offence was worse? According to you, Daniele De Rossi's elbow which gets 81.8% of the vote.

HALF-TIME: What a 45 minutes of football - fluctuating fortunes which had something for everyone. And with all still there to play for the second half should be just as intriguing.

"It wasn't high and it wasn't a straight red. It was a yellow and a warning to calm down. Players must think the referee's desperate to even it up and not take the gamble."
Chris Waddle, BBC Five Live Sport

45 mins: RED CARD
It is 10 v 10. Pablo Mastroeni is sent off for a sliding lunge on Andrea Pirlo. His studs caught the Italian on the ankle. Coach Bruce Arena is furious on the touchline.

43 mins: Landon Donovan flicks a pass through to Claudio Reyna and his shot is deflected for a corner. Donovan takes the corner but it is woeful and goes out for a throw on the opposite flank.

41 mins: Italy have adapted well to playing a man down, although a wasteful pass from captain Fabio Cannavaro invites some pressure. Pablo Mastroeni lets fly with a tremendous 35-yard effort that is inches off target.

37 mins: After that flurry of action the game has taken on a new pattern and while it had been bubbling up nicely, the tempo has slowed.

34 mins: Francesco Totti has a clothing range called "Never Without You". Well now Italy are without him after Marcello Lippi mulls over his options and chooses to sacrifice the playmaker for the more tigerish midfielder Gennaro Gattuso.

31 mins: Brian McBride rejoins the fray with a big X-marks-the-spot style bandage underneath his left eye.

PLAYER RATER: Should Daniele De Rossi have been sent off? 83% of you think so.

"He should get a five or six-match ban for that. He shouldn't play again in the tournament. It was the act of a coward."
Chris Waddle, BBC Five Live Sport

28 mins: RED CARD
Midfielder Daniele De Rossi is off for throwing an elbow at Brian McBride on the halfway line. There's claret all over the Fulham striker's face but he is back on his feet and the physios are doing a good cleaning up job on the touchlines.

27 mins: GOAL Italy 1-1 USA
Now we know why Cristian Zaccardo is a right-back - he has no left foot. Bobby Convey's free-kick from the right evades everybody until the Italian looks to hook it clear but slices it into the corner of his net for an own goal. Taxi for Zaccardo!

25 mins: USA may be behind but they are certainly not bowed. They are back on the attack. In reality there is no other option, they need a goal.

22 mins: GOAL Italy 1-0 USA
Italy have been on the back foot for the first quarter but take the lead. The USA defence is caught flat-footed by Andrea Pirlo's inswinging free-kick - Eddie Pope is culprit number one - and Alberto Gilardino attacks it with a low, diving header to score.

21 mins: Eddie Pope receives a booking for a bundled challenge on Alberto Gilardino as the pair chase a long ball. That's a long ball from the sterotyped cultured Italian boot.

18 mins: America have started well. A quick passing move and a neat switched pass from Landon Donovan to Carlos Bocanegra helps release Clinton Dempsey. His low shot is just wide.

16 mins: The corner from the left goes across the box. But it is collected by Landon Donovan who clips a low cross back into the area which Bobby Convey blazes over.

15 mins: Alessandro Nesta slides through from behind on Bobby Convey on the edge of the area. The Reading man steps up to take the free-kick which ricochets off the wall for a corner.

13 mins: Take your pick from four Italians who are offside for Francesco Totti's inswinging free-kick.

12 mins: Italy look happy to play deep and absorb pressure before releasing Luca Toni. Oguchi Onyewu stops the striker with a firm challenge.

10 mins: Now a cross from the left by Bobby Convey which Fabio Cannavaro heads clear.

9 mins: Clinton Dempsey puts a low cross in from the right but it is smothered and cleared by the Italian defence before Landon Donovan can get on the end of it.

6 mins: Francesco Totti has a little word with referee Jorge Larrionda. The Italian's not happy at the number of fouls the Americans are committing, particularly after he got a yellow card for the only foul his side have conceded to date.

5 mins: Francesco Totti catches Clinton Dempsey with a sliding tackle and gets a yellow card.

1 min: A poor early sign for the Americans as Luca Toni climbs above two defenders in the box and gets his head to a cross from the right. It is a glancing touch, not a telling one, but it could be a telling sign of things to come for USA coach Bruce Arena, if he glanced and saw it.

2000 BST: We're off.

1958 BST: Anthem time and different styles. The Italians go for the ever-popular arm-linking option while the Americans are patriotic hand-on-heart, stand-alone types. Is that a clue to team unity? Time will tell.

1954 BST: The players emerge from the tunnel at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion on a lovely evening in Kaiserslautern.

1950 BST: Ghana's victory over the Czech Republic earlier in the day will have given USA fans heart and now it is up to the players to take advantage of the fact that the group has been opened up.

1944 BST: "The USA have to win and that will keep them involved. Watching the warm-up they look bright and concentrated, but I still think Italy will have too much for them."
Chris Waddle, BBC Five Live Sport

1938 BST: It is not all doom and gloom for the Americans. Already this weekend they have wiped the floor with an Italian after amateur Edoardo Molinari missed the cut at the US Open. Out on the fairways of Winged Foot, 32 home players made the cut.

1931 BST: History and form point to an Italian win. It could be a good night - okay, early afternoon - to be an Italian in America. Did you know Italians make up 6% of the US population? That's about 15.6 million people, according to the 2000 US Census.

1922 BST: This flick through the archives makes bad reading for the USA. They have never beaten Italy. They've only scored two goals and conceded 23. We may as well go home now.

1919 BST: The first meeting between the teams came in the 1934 World Cup when Italy ran out 7-1 victors. They went on to win the tournament. The Italians clearly like coming across Americans at the World Cup.

1914 BST: The last time these two met in a World Cup was in 1990 when Italy won a group match 1-0. As this time, it was also their second match in the tournament and the Italians went on to post a 100% record in the group stages for the only time.

1905 BST: Italy welcome back Gianluca Zambrotta at left-back, with Fabio Grosso dropping out, and striker Francesco Totti has been passed fit to start.

USA coach Bruce Arena makes two changes to the side that lost to the Czech Republic. Clinton Dempsey and Carlos Bocanegra come in for DaMarcus Beasley and Eddie Lewis.

Italy: Buffon, Zaccardo, Nesta, Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Perrotta, Pirlo, De Rossi, Totti, Toni, Gilardino.
Subs: Amelia, Barone, Barzagli, Camoranesi, Del Piero, Gattuso, Grosso, Iaquinta, Inzaghi, Materazzi, Oddo, Peruzzi.

USA: Keller, Cherundolo, Onyewu, Pope, Bocanegra, Dempsey, Mastroeni, Reyna, Convey, McBride, Donovan.
Subs: Albright, Beasley, Berhalter, Ching, Conrad, Hahnemann, Howard, Johnson, Lewis, O'Brien, Olsen, Wolff.

Referee: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay).