If the US is to win , they cannot give up a goal five minutes into the match. If they can get it to halftime at 0-0, then they might get the Italians frustrated which can create some opportunites.
The problem however for the US is the goal differential, they are not likely to beat anybody by 3 or more goals. They could conceivably win their next 2 games and still not advance.
But it would be worth it to beat the Italians! 8-)
Trust me on this, if they win two games, they WILL advance. However, that's unfortunately the only way they could advance due to the goal differential. 4 points just is not going to do it for us this time around.