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SAPPORO, Japan (Ticker) -- Striker Christian Vieri scored two first-half goals to give Italy a 2-0 victory against newcomer Ecuador in a Group G match. Vieri one-timed a pass from Francesco Totti in the seventh minute, giving goalkeeper Jose Cevallos no chance. The 28-year-old made a run past defender Ivan Hurtado and beat Cevallos again 20 minutes later. "We started poorly, they had us under pressure from the start," said Cevallos, who made several other saves. "We settled and played our style and tried to get back." The Australian-born Vieri had another opportunity when he got to the end of Gianluca Zambrotta's cross, but steered the ball wide of the net. Cristiano Doni hit the bar in the second half. Ecuador, making its first appearance in the World Cup, shook of its nerves in the second half when it played with a little more courage. Agustin Delgado came close to scoring in the closing minutes, but his shot was tipped wide by Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Ecuador even won eight corner kicks to just five for Italy, but was not able to break down the defense. "With our peformance in the second half we're not discouraged," Ecuador coach Hernan Dario Gomez said. "We have the strength and the preparation to go on to the next match." Veteran defenseman Paolo Maldini is playing in his fourth successive World Cup and hopes his team goes all the way to end his international career on top. Maldini and Italy finished third in 1990, lost to Brazil on penalty kicks four years later and exited in the quarterfinals to eventual winner France in 1998. The three-time world champion Italians moved to the top of the group on goal differential over Mexico, which beat Croatia, 1-0, earlier. "I know people were interested in seeing how Italy would play and I hope we've given some satisfaction," coach Giovanni Trapattoni said. "I was very satisfied the way they played." |
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