USA vs. Italy: Score, Player Grades, Twitter Reaction

Team USA pulled out a shock victory over heavily-favored Italy, 1-0, in an international friendly in Genoa on Wednesday. The Azzurri dominated possession, but were ultimately undone by offsides calls, missed opportunities and the fateful interplay between Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey for the lone goal.

The win moves the Yanks to 5-1-4 under Jurgen Klinsmann. 

Tweets of the Night

The Stars and Stripes were fortunate to avoid the wrath of Mario Balotelli, as FOX Soccer's Ives Galarcep was keen to point out:

"

Will say this. How luck is the USA that Italy don't have Balotelli playing? Sure, he might have had a red by now, but he'd also have a goal.

— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) February 29, 2012"

Who else but Chad Ochocinco, who once auditioned for Sporting Kansas City, should be glued to the tube for Team USA's surprising triumph on The Boot:

"

Of course, only way i'd miss it is if God called me home RT @RosaLamontagne: @ochocinco will you watch USA vs Italy?

— Chad Ochocinco (@ochocinco) February 29, 2012"

Can Inman of the San Jose Mercury News chipped in his thoughts about the historic decision:

"

You always remember your 1st time: #USA finally beats Italy in men's soccer, 1-0

— Cam Inman (@CamInman) February 29, 2012"

And speaking of first times, it looks like there might be hope for doormats in other sports after all:

"

U.S. beats Italy for first time in soccer, ever. See Clemson hoops, there's hope the next time you're in Chapel Hill.

— ACC Sports (@ACCSports) February 29, 2012"

Must-See Highlight

What were you expecting—a recap of all bajillion offsides calls against Italy?

Grades for Key USA Players

Jozy Altidore: B

Jozy hardly looked prepared to seize the opportunities at hand during the first half, but proved to be much more effective after the break. Altidore didn't have many chances, but the one he did have, he held perfectly for Clint Dempsey to put through.

Clint Dempsey: A

Dempsey had a tremendous scoring opportunity on a free kick in the first half, though the ball ended up right in GG Buffon's hands. He didn't misfire when the ball found his foot in the second half, converting Altidore's brilliant hold in the box into the winning strike.

Tim Howard: A

Tim Howard took the lemons that Team USA's backline handed him and turned them into lemonade, stopping all seven shots on goal (among 19 total shots) that came his way from Italy's relentless attack.

Michael Bradley: B

The former coach's son was in the right place at the right time on multiple occasions, stepping in to stop shot attempts and passes all evening. On the other hand, Bradley had incredible difficulty maintaining possession of the ball when he had it and converting from defence to attack.

Carlos Bocanegra: B-

Like Bradley, Bocanegra, the American skipper, did decently well to disrupt the Italian attack at times, though he struggled to convert those stops into solid possession.

Steve Cherundolo: C-

Cherundolo, like the rest of Team USA's backline, was torn to shreds by Italy's forwards.

Fabian Johnson: B-

The same goes for Fabian Johnson, though he did manage to disrupt the Italian attack more than a few times along the way.

Clarence Goodson: C

Have I mentioned that Team USA's defence could've been better? Granted, Goodson was only a short flight away from the Switzerland, though that didn't necessitate any impersonation of that nation's favorite cheese.

Maurice Edu: B-

I can't, in good conscience, give any member of the American midfield anything above the "B" range, seeing as how they did so poorly to disrupt Italian possession and turn it into their own. That goes as much for Maurice Edu as anyone else. 

Brek Shea: B-

Like I said, the blame for Team USA possessing the ball for just 39 percent of the match deserves to be spread around. Brek Shea showed flashes of promise, as usual, but didn't exactly set the pitch ablaze at Luigi Ferraris before subbing out.

Daniel Williams: B-

Ditto for Daniel Williams. 

Grades for Key Italy Players

Alessandro Matri: B

Matri was his usual, aggressive self against the lackluster American backline, but did little to capitalize on the opportunities he had, mainly because he was caught offside most of the time.

Well, four times, to be exact.

Sebastian Giovinco: B

Like Matri, Giovinco just couldn't seem to keep himself onside when the ball came his way into the box. All told, Giovinco was caught offside five times, though to his credit, he did rack up three shots on the day, two of which were on goal.

Gianluigi Buffon: B

It's tough to give GG much of a grade either way, seeing as how he faced just four shots all night and let one of them through.

Thiago Motta: A

Thiago Motta contributed two shots (both on goal) to the onslaught that was the Italian attack, though neither made its way past the Human Spider Web otherwise known as Tim Howard. Still, Motta deserves applause for stewarding Italy's attack from the midfield.

Andrea Pirlo: B+

Much was expected of Andrea Pirlo, seeing as how he's arguably the best player Cesare Prandelli has at his disposal. He delivered, for the most part, chipping in two shots and helping to fuel the Nazionale's fervent push forward.

Christian Maggio: B 

Christian Maggio had a foot in one of Italy's best chances of the night, setting up a close-range shot by Thiago Motta in the fifth minute that wound up in Tim Howard's mitts.

Claudio Marchisio: B+

When your side owns possession of the ball for 61 percent of the match, then some thanks are in order for the midfield. Marchisio certainly deserves at least some of those.

Antonio Nocerino: B+

As does Nocerino, Marchisio's partner in crime up the middle.

Domenico Criscito: B

Criscito was the beneficiary of some brilliant work by Andrea Pirlo, though his shot to the far post, like every other shot by an Italian player, was stopped by Tim Howard.

Andrea Barzagli: B

As with GG, Barzagli gets a good, but not great, grade if for no other reason than that the players in front of him did a rather stand-up job of keeping the ball out of Italy's end of the pitch.

Angelo Ogbonna: B+

The same goes for Ogbonna, though he gets extra credit for registering a shot of his own amongst Italy's attacking bonanza.

Deciding Factor: Attitude

Both teams exemplified the cultural attitudes that pervade their squads—Italy with an aggressive approach on the attack, USA with the toughness and resilience to withstand the constant barrage coming from a more talented side.

Both squads were well served by their respective styles, though the Azzurri proved to be a bit too aggressive at times, picking up offsides calls with near-reckless abandon.

The Yanks, on the other hand, showed some serious moxie standing in against pass after pass, cross after cross and shot after shot from the Italian attack, albeit a quality validated largely by Dempsey's goal on the other end.

Stat of the Night: 1

One may be the loneliest number, but it also happened to be the happiest for Team USA. The Americans earned their first-ever victory in 11 tries across 82 years against Italy. Wednesday's game also marked the first time the Azzurri had ever lost in Genoa.

Game MVP: Dempsey

Dempsey got the winning goal and would've had two had his brilliant free kick not curled right into Buffon's hands. All told, Dempsey was sharp with the opportunities he had, though he certainly could've used better support from the American midfield to get the ball into the attack a bit more often.

What's Next?

Both sides have long breaks until their next international fixtures. The Americans will face Scotland on March 26, while the Italians will take on Russia on June 1.

Follow @J0shMart1n