Trail goes cold in Peru

Two defeats
Group C hopefuls Italy were beaten 3-1 by the United States in Chiclayo, while in Group D the Dutch went down 2-1 against Brazil in Piura. This leaves both teams needing wins in the third and final round of matches to be sure of reaching the last eight.

Brazilian force
Brazil took an early stranglehold against the Netherlands, with Igor beating goalkeeper Tom Krul on eight minutes. However, AFC Ajax's John Goossens pressured Brazil defender Sidnei into heading past his own goalkeeper for the equaliser on 28 minutes.

Dutch pressure
In the second half the pressure was all on Newcastle United FC custodian Krul, and he could do little to prevent Ramon scoring the winning goal on the hour. The defeat means the Dutch require a better result in their final game than Brazil's, if they are to progress. The South Americans will be taking on eliminated Qatar - defeated 3-1 by Gambia, the Netherlands' final opponents on Friday.

'Bad situation'
"I think Brazil will beat Qatar and get six points, so we are in a very bad situation because if Gambia get a draw against us, we are out," said Netherlands coach Ruud Kaiser. "We have to win and then there will be three teams with six points, but Gambia are a very strong side. They have already beaten Brazil 3-1, so what can I say?"

Italy task
The situation is similar for Italy after they lost against the USA. Level on points with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, who won 3-0 against the Ivory Coast on Tuesday, they must overcome the Koreans in their third game to make the quarter-finals.

American dominance
Francesco Rocca's side were overwhelmed by their American opponents from the start and were lucky to reach half-time without conceding. However, they were a goal down two minutes after the break as Ofori Sarkodie beat goalkeeper Enrico Alfonso.

Red card
Worse was to follow as Salvatore Foti was sent off before Kyle Nakazawa put the USA two up with a 67th-minute free-kick. A gust of wind helped Andrea Russotto pull a goal back from a set-piece after 72 minutes, but Ryan Soroka scored again late on to underline the Americans' dominance.

'Awful'
"The Americans played better than us, especially in the first half when we were awful," said Rocca. "Their aggressive, physical game made it hard for us throughout the match, but nothing is lost yet. We just have to play a lot better against the Koreans."