A solid start for Italy at the World Cup against World Cup new comers Ghana. Andrea Pirlo and Vincenzo Iaquinta were the two, unlikely, scorers of Italy providing what everyone agreed was a deserved victory over a clearly less experienced Ghana.
After 40 minutes of intense football Andrea Pirlo, who was a key player throughout the game for Italy, settled the issue with a powerful long-drive that Ghana's otherwise excellent goalie Kingston could simply not halt.
The first half saw both teams create a number of opportunities with Italy missing a volley from Luca Toni that thundered off the crossbar.
For the second half a clearly weared down Italy played in a much more reserved manner with Ghana repeatedly threatening Italy's goalkeeper Buffon, but never managing to score. Ghana's Appiah and, in particular, an almost heroic Essien (who plays in Chelsea) tried to manage a team that was clearly lacking in the defense and attack positions although they were very strong in the midfield.
Seven minutes from the end Iaquinta dashed any hopes Ghana might have when he converted a wonderful opportunity on a one-on-one with Kingston.
In all a nice game of football which sees the Azzuri in a good position to progress in their World Cup adventure against a hard-hit USA that lost 3-0 to a very strong Czech Republic.
