Wow, what a game!

I want to say that first and foremost, the referee's calls weren't all that bad. The De Rossi ejection was clearly correct. I thought the Mastroeni change was a bit thuggish and it wasn't a call that ALL referees would make but I think that at least some refs would have made that call. The final red card is a play that many, many refs would have yellow carded a player for. Lots of refs are more reluctant to issue a 2nd yellow but, by the rules, they shouldn't be (of course you could easily argue that Pope's first yellow card was fairly ticky tack). And for those of you that were wondering, the offsides call was absolutely correct. McBride CLEARLY was involved with the play as the ball went skipping past his feet.

Having said that, the cards definitely changed the game. Here's how the player's played. I also wonder how much differently the game would have gone if the Italians understood how offsides work. There were five or six times in which one or multiple Italian players were 3+ yards offsides.

Keller: Not much he could have done on the goal and came up with a couple great saves late as well as some crucial plays in which he came out to rob the Italians of breakaways. A-

Pope: Played solid for the 45 minutes he was in the game. As I said above, the tackles was probably yellow card worthy and was a bit foolish. Won't be playing against Ghana, however. B-

Onyewu: Looked fantastic after the first 5 minutes. Once he settled down he looked very good in the back and continues to look dangerous when he pushes forward. A

Cherundulo: Quietly put in a fantastic performance. He was the only starter on the field that looked like they still had gas in the tank. Which is lucky because he was covering Zambrotta who looked to have plenty of energy as well. A

Bocanegra: Like Cherundulo, Bocanegra had a great game in defense. He continues to show that he can contribute to the offense and I expect that he'll play against Ghana in Eddie Lewis's place. A-

Reyna: Looked better then he did against the Czechs but he was showing his lack of fitness towards the end. I have no understanding of why he wasn't substituted because he was clearly sucking wind for the last 20 minutes. This game was a good gut check for Reyna though and he finally showed a little bit of fire. B+

Convey: Put in a solid performance but was out of his depth against the Italian defense. Needs to learn when to dribble, when to use pace and when to just pass it. B-

Dempsey: Looking better and better on the right. His feistiness provides some defensive cover and his unpredictability really helps to keep a defense on its toes. I certainly hope he starts against Ghana.

Mastroeni: Ugh... he was actually starting to play better and then he pulls this crap. His shot was fantastic and really showed that the Italians couldn't afford to just leave him sitting 25 yards up top. But then he makes that tackle and suddenly we lose a great advantage in momentum and players. D/B (the D is for the game, the B is for the 42 minutes before the ejection).

Donovan: Played better but still has a ways to go. Let's hope he's saving his best game for last because we'll need it against a Ghana team that just gained alot of momentum. B-

McBride: Had three plays in which I would normally expect him to do better (an early header, a late left footed shot on a breakaway and the offsides that ruined Beasley's goal) the last two can be forgiven somewhat just because of what he had to do for 90 minutes (hint: run, run, run with very little support). B

Subs:

Beasley: Looked fantastic for about ten minutes but faded after that. His sub in sparked a resurgence in the game in which the USA started to take over despite our reduced numbers. Still shows a reluctance to run at defenders and when he does he tries to beat them with the dribble not his speed. The non-goal was unfortunate. B+

Conrad: Did well considering the forced nature of his substitution. B

Coaching:

I dont' normally rank the coaching but this game is an exception. Arena came in with a good game plan and the USA executed well. My only fault (and it's a big one) is that he never subbed in Eddie Johnson, even when it was apparent that the Italians were out of subs and dog tired. The extra space in this game, created by the red cards would have been perfect for him... Eddie Johnson on for McBride or Reyna (with McBride moving back to midfield) would have been great. O'Brien could have been useful as well. I haven't seen anything about why he didn't make the final sub, but I'd love to know. B-