ROME: The United States football team stunned European giants Italy on Wednesday for a rare victory in Europe. It is the first-ever victory for the US over Italy. Clint Dempsey scored a second-half winner as Italy crashed to a 1-0 defeat against the United States at Genoa's Luigi Ferraris stadium Wednesday. Italy coach Cesare Prandelli fielded an experimental team that lacked the speed to get the better of Juergen Klinsmann's US side in the friendly international some three months before Euro 2012. It was a fourth defeat in 19 games for Italy under Prandelli. The United States, with new German manager Klinsmann at the helm, has shown itself capable of competing on the international stage and the victory is likely to see the Americans gain much-needed confidence heading into World Cup qualification in the CONCACAF region, where they have dominated, along with Mexico for the past two decades. For the Italians, the loss was seen as dishonorable for many fans in the country, who lashed out at Prandelli. “We should always beat the Americans,” said Lorenzo, one of the millions of avid football fans in the country. He told Bikyamasr.com that “the US is improving, but at home there should be no doubt Italy is a better football team.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/vE8NC Tags: Football, Friendly, Italy, United States Section: American Sport, Europe, Football, Sport
