World Cup debutants Ghana advanced to the second round after they edged the United States 2-1 in Nuremberg on Thursday. Haminu Dramani broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute when he went face-to-face with U.S keeper Kasey Keller before finishing superbly into the far corner of the net. Clint Dempsey leveled the score two minutes before the break after he connected with DaMarcus Beasley cross to volley the ball home. Stephen Appiah sealed the victory for the Africans just two minutes later from the penalty spot after Razak Pimpong was allegedly brought down by Oguchi Onyewu inside the area. Ghana progressed as Group E runners-up with six points, they will face Group F winners that will most likely to be world champions Brazil. Italy also secured their place in the knock-out stage following a 2-0 victory over Czech Republic. Substitute Marco Materazzi scored his first international goal to put Italy ahead in the first half before Filippo Inzaghi secured the Azzurri's victory late in the second period. Italy finished atop of Group E with seven points, while Czech have been eliminated as they lie third with just three points.
Italy advanced to the second round after a 2-0 victory over Czech Republic Czech took the attacking initiative with early threats from Milan Baros and Juventus play maker Pavel Nedved. In the eighth minute, Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon blocked Baros' close-range shot following a wonderful pass from Nedved. Eight minutes later, Nedved fired a powerful shot that was parried by Buffon, Marek Jankulovski capitalized on the rebound but again the Juventus keeper produced a brilliant save. Materazzi, who came off the bench to replace injured Alessandro Nesta, towered above Czech defenders to head home Francesco Totti's corner kick in the 26th minute. Jan Polak was sent off in the additional time of the first half for a second bookable offense after two rough challenges on Gennaro Gattuso and Totti. In the second half, Czech Republic went forward searching for the equalizer; Italy took advantage of their opponents' approach and made dangerous counter attacks. Inzaghi almost extended the lead in the 66th minute when Czech defender David Rozenhal tried to clear the ball outside the area but his shot deflected off a teammate and went into the path of the Milan striker, whose shot went embarrassingly wide. Three minutes from time, Inzaghi ensured the victory after he raced onto a Simone Perrotta's through pass to beat the offside trap before rounding the keeper and slotting the ball into the empty net.
