The U.S. men's national team was up a goal at halftime against mighty Italy and feeling pretty good about its performance, but losing Ricardo Clark to a terrible red card call meant the Italians would have 45 minutes to try and pick apart the American defense.
Italy did just that.
Led by American-born striker Giuseppe Rossi, the Italians erased the USA lead and rolled to a 3-1 victory in their opening match of the Confederations Cup in South Africa.
Rossi equalized with a beautiful long-range blast after stripping Benny Feilhaber in midfield. Daniele DeRossi gave Italy the lead with his own long-distance strike. Rossi finished the scoring with a perfect volley off a Andrea Pirlo pass to send the Italians to victory.
The U.S. team held a halftime lead after Landon Donovan converted a Jozy Altidore-earned penalty, but a terrible call against Clark saw the Dynamo midfielder sent off eventually proved too much to overcome.
Now the United States will have to at least tie Brazil on Thursday to keep alive its chances of advancing to the knockout round.
What did you think of the U.S. team's performance? Did you consider the red card absurd? Is Giuseppe Rossi the most-hated soccer player in the history of American soccer? Did you come away from today's match feeling better about the U.S. team, or worse?
Share your thoughts below.
