international football

Italy have beaten Ghana 2:0 in Hannover on Monday with Ghana their debut in the World Cup Finals.
Andrea Pirlo scored after 40 minutes of a hard fought first period, which saw chances from both sides, with substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta leaping on a defensive error from Ghana in the second half.
Daniel de Rossi forced a save from Ghana keeper Richard Kingston in the 6th minute, with Italy's captain Fabio Cannavaro heading high minutes later, but Ghana continued to press the Italian defence.
Michael Essien was fouled by de Rossi in the 11th minute, just outside the area, which from the resulting kick from Ghana captain hit the wall and Italy went on the break, with a lovely run of play which saw Luca Toni slide-in on a great reverse pass, with the goal gaping, but he missed the ball and the keeper saved.
The pressure was then put on from both teams, with Totti shooting high, but then Allessandro Nesta having to make a vital clearance from a John Pantsil cross which was bound for the head of Matthew Amoah just feet from the goal.
Italy were having the majority of chances on goal, but were consistently denied by the superb last-minute tackles from Ghana and the resulting corners and free-kicks weren't capitalised on.
Luca Toni had a long-range shot rattle of the crossbar, but the Ghanaians were quick to attack on the break, and were constantly a threat.
Ghana came close twice in the first 30 minutes with Asamoah Gyan having a strike from 20-yards that went just wide.
Emmanuel Pappoe had the best chance of the first-half for Ghana with a strike that looked bound for the top right of the goal.
Italy then started piling on the pressure, with a string of free-kicks and corners, but the Ghana held out.
Totti forced another fine save from Kingston minutes later, with a 40-yard screamer that the Ghana keeper tipped over the bar.
The danger on the break was always there from Ghana, with Ratomir Dujkovicís men using the flanks well and never giving the Italianís any time on the ball.
Andrea Pirlo finally made the pressure tell and broke the deadlock in the 40th minute, after a corner was played short to him and he unleashed a vicious strike from outside the penalty area which flew through the tangle of bodies and past Kingston to make it 1-0.
The two sides went into half-time with Italy head coach Marcello Lippi surely relieved that Ghana didnít find a way through in the first-half.
Both sides came out for the second-half with the same pace as they finished the first, but with Italy having the better chances in the opening minutes but made nothing from them.
Michael Essien, who was Ghana's best player, had a shot that stung the hands of Buffon, and Gilardino forced Kingston into a good save from a one-on-one and neither side profited from their early chances.
But, in the 55th minute Totti , who has just come back from a broken leg and hasnít played a full match since February, was injured and replaced by Mauro Camoranese and minutes later Gilardino was subbed for Vicenzo Iaquinta.
Kingston made another fine save in the 67th minute when de Rossi played a lovely ball in to Iaquinta.
Ghanaís Matthew Amoah came off in the 68th for Razak Pimpong as the Ghanaians tried to find an equaliser.
There was high drama in the 75th minute when Iaquinta was hacked down by Ghanaís Sammy Kuffour. As he was the last man, it looked like a straight sending-off for the Ghana defender, but Iaquinta was judged to be offside before the tackle, and Kuffour went unpunished.
A call from Ghana for a penalty in the 79th minute was waved away from the referee when it seemed that Gyan was brought down by Daniel de Rossi. Replays showed de Rossi was lucky not to have conceded a penalty.
Both sides pressed on for another goal, but the heat was beginning to tell and the tempo of the game slowed down dramatically from the first-half, with mistakes being made defensively, especially by Ghana.
The defensive errors were made to pay in the 83rd minute when Kuffour played a back-pass to his own keeper that was totally lacking pace and Udineseís Iaquinta leapt on the poor pass and circled round the keeper to make it 2-0 to Italy.
This spelt the end of any chances that Ghana had of equalising, with the Italianís doing one of the things they do best, defending their lead, and defending from the front.
There were few chances for Ghana in the dying minutes apart from a long range strike from Essien, and with Italy who were in no mood to concede, the game finished 2-0 to Italy.