=== A point is a point, U.S. hangs on for 1-1 draw with Italy ===

Kaiserslautern, Germany (My Sportsbook) - It wasn't a win, but the U.S. will take the point after settling for a 1-1 draw with Italy on Saturday.

The U.S. conceded the first goal, then benefited from an own goal that Cristian Zaccardo scored on his own net to earn its first point of the tournament.

After much speculation, U.S. head coach Bruce Arena made two major changes to his starting lineup. Clint Dempsey and Carlos Bocanegra made the start against Italy instead of DaMarcus Beasley and Eddie Lewis.

In nearly a must win situation, the U.S. opened the first half with a fresh, rejuvenated attack compared to its start in the group opener against the Czech Republic.

In the first 20 minutes, the U.S. matched-up well with the Italians, with nearly equal ball control.

In the 21st minute, defender Eddie Pope was issued a caution for a challenge on Alberto Gilardino. The caution was the second of the match issued by referee Jorge Larrionda.

One minute later, Italy accomplished exactly what the U.S. had hoped to do by scoring the first goal of the match in the 22nd minute off the head of Gilardino to take the 1-0 lead.

On a free kick just outside of the right corner of the penalty box, Francesco Totti sent a cross to Gilardino, who beat the U.S. offside trap to head the ball past a diving Kasey Keller for the one goal lead.

But the celebrations of the goal would quickly be put to rest, as Zaccardo knocked in a goal on his own net to give the U.S. the equalizer in the 27th minute. Zaccardo caught the ball on his shin, deflecting it into the left corner of the Italian net off of a free kick from Bobby Convey.

With the match tied at 1-1, the Italian lineup took a hit, when Daniele De Rossi was issued a red card for a challenge against Brian McBride. De Rossi's elbow appeared to hit McBride in the forehead. McBride, who was bleeding after the challenge, briefly left the field but returned with a bandage over his forehead.

In the 41st, the U.S. nearly took the lead when Pablo Mastroeni drilled a long ranged shot that just flew over the crossbar and out of bounds. But minutes later, Mastroeni was issued a red card for a tackle against Andrea Pirlo in the 45th minute, leaving both teams down to 10 players for the second half.

Opening the second half, the U.S. lineup lost another crucial player, as Pope was issued his second yellow card of the match for a tackle on Gilardino in the 47th minute. Overall, the U.S. had committed 20 fouls compared to Italy's seven by the 50th minute.

With nine players compared to Italy's 10, the U.S. continued to find opportunities and nearly took the lead in the 64th minute with a goal that was called back for being offside. Beasley sent a shot from the left side that flew into the back of the net, but the linesman's flag quickly shot up, indicating that McBride was offside.

Keller helped preserve the 1-1 score in the 72nd minute when the goalkeeper reached to his right to punch out Pirlo's chip shot. Overall, the U.S. and Italy combined for 17 shots, with the Italians taking three shots on goal.

The U.S. now has a 0-3-3 record with the Italians. Saturday was the third World Cup meeting between the two teams.