HAMBURG - Three-times winners Italy and debutants Ghana advanced on Thursday to the knockout stage of the World Cup with victories in two tense Group E matches that eliminated the Czech Republic and United States.
All four teams had a chance going into Thursday's matches to win tickets for the second round, making the group the most competitive in the 32-team tournament.
Italy won the group with a 2-0 victory over the 10-man Czechs to finish with seven points. The Czechs go home in third with just three points.
Ghana, who upset the Czechs last weekend, became only the fifth African team to advance from the group stage with six points after their 2-1 victory over the United States, who finished last with just one point.
"We believe we are going global now," Ghana President John Kufuor said, adding he was "overwhelmed with happiness" over the victory that he said put Ghana on the world's soccer map.
Italy coach Marcello Lippi celebrated the victory in Hamburg at the same time a prosecutor in Rome ordered top Italian clubs Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina to stand trial in the nation's biggest sports scandal in a quarter of a century.
"This team has terrific spirit, probably the most fighting spirit I have had in any team," Lippi said.
Substitutes Marco Materazzi and Filippo Inzaghi put the 1982 world champions through. Materazzi, a defender, scored a header in the 26th minute before the Czechs were reduced to 10 men just before the break when Jan Polak was sent off.
Inzaghi, who came on in the second half, rounded goalkeeper Petr Cech to roll home the second in the 87th minute at a point when the Czechs were throwing everyone forward.
"Playing with 10 men was just too difficult today," said Czech coach Karel Brueckner, whose fancied but aging team once again fell short of pre-tournament expectations.
Italy now meet the runners-up from Group F in Kaiserslautern on Monday. That group, comprising Brazil, Australia, Croatia and Japan play their final first round games later on Thursday.
Ghana Celebrates
Ghana's stirring victory over the United States, who would have advanced with a win, proved again that soccer can level the world's playing field. Ghana's per capita gross domestic product was $380 in 2004 while in the U.S. it was $41,400.
"This is a starting point for all Ghanaians, for this group of players and myself," said coach Ratomir Dujkovic. "The first time in the World Cup and we come in the top 16 in the world."
Ghanaians poured into the streets in the capital Accra. They jumped on cars, danced and sang in joy. The air rang with horns and whistles as fans clapped, blew whistles and beat metal tins, pots and drums.
The dejected Americans, appearing in their fifth consecutive World Cup, pointed to a questionable penalty by German referee Markus Merk just before halftime.
"We are very disappointed by the judgment of the referee," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said.
"The call was the big call of the game."
Merk ruled that U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu had pushed over Ghana's Razak Pimpong inside the area in stoppage time just before the half. Stephen Appiah converted the penalty.
Ghana had first taken the lead in the 22nd minute when midfielder Haminu Dramani dispossessed Claudio Reyna and strode into the penalty area to curl the ball past a diving Kasey Keller.
Midfielder Clint Dempsey had fired the U.S. back on level terms two minutes from the break.
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