International Friendly: Italy 0-1 USA

Nocerino (L) and Michael Bradley (R) fight for the ball. (Getty Images)

Yes, I will admit to being skeptical coming into this one. The USA had not beaten the Azzurri in 82 years of trying. Plus, the Italians rarely lose, and often don't concede goals, on their home soil. I honestly thought that if our defense played well, the best result we could probably get would be 0-0 draw. As a fan of Serie A, I know that when you actually get a chance to score on an Italian side, you better take it.

The Italians did stretch and test the USA defense all day. Even though they were without such key players as Manchester City's Mario Balotelli, they still brought in plenty of firepower. In the 5th minute Christian Maggio sent a ball in to Thiago Motta, and Motta squeezed off a close range shot that forced a great save out of Tim Howard. Tim was a wall for the USA.

The USA did have some first half possession, but had a hard time creating good chances, which is the norm for teams against Italy. Maurice Edu missed from distance in the 30th, and Clint Dempsey forced a save from Gigi Buffon in the 38th. The Italians had bossed the run of play, but the two sides were scoreless at half time, which probably suited the Americans just fine.

Italy came out in continued attack in the second half, but it was the Yanks who drew first blood. In the 55th minute Jozy Atlidore took a cross from Fabian Johnson, then did a gorgeous little lay-off to Clint Dempsey. Deuce fired the ball into the back of the net to give the USA a 0-1 lead.

However, there was a lot of time left to go and the Italians were not going to go gently. The final minutes of the match severely tested the USA defense. Chievo Verona's Michael Bradley was a standout for the Americans in the defensive midfield, helping to mop up any mess. Jonathan Spector and Clarence Goodson came up with some key blocks late, and Howard continued to stand tall. The closest Italy would come was late in stoppage time, when Riccardo Montolivo found some space but saw his shot drift just wide. When all was said and done, the USA held on to the 0-1, certainly to go down as one of our most famous results. Hopefully we can keep it up, especially on the defensive end, through World Cup Qualifying.