After playing almost the entire game as if they were scared to get near the Mexican goal, Italy got an amazing bit of luck from substitute striker Alessandro Del Piero with a late header AND a surprise victory by Ecuador over Croatia to squeak through to the next round. Mexico played an excellent game, lots of ball control and defense, pushing forward with confidence. They only needed a draw to advance and after taking the 1-0 lead in the first half there was really little doubt about that.
Interestingly, ESPN used Giorgio Chinaglia as the commentator on this match and I thought he was a good choice. He did not favor his old side and was even more critical of them than the Mexicans. Of course, the Italian team was deserving of the criticism. I don’t know what was wrong with Totti today but he was bad and should have come out much earlier for del Piero than he did. Then there was the questionable decision of Trapattoni, the Italian coach, to play Maldini and Panucci deep in the defense and on the opposite side of the field from their normal placement.
Props to the Mexican team with a very pretty header from Jared Borgetti in the 34th minute, going away from and with his back to the goal, and solid midfield work. They win the group and will face the runnerup from Group D in the next round, either the US, South Korea, or Portugal. Italy will face the Group D winner. The final games for the group, America-Poland and Portugal-South Korea, are early tomorrow morning and I can hardly wait!
BillSaysThis 