Italy ties Paraguay; star goalie hurt

Italy fell behind, then lost its star goalkeeper for the second half. So a 1-1 World Cup draw with Paraguay Mondayshould not have been all that disturbing for the defending champions.

Yet the Azzurri's underwhelming, rain-soaked draw hardly was pleasing to coach Marcello Lippi, the same man who guided the Italians to their fourth championship in 2006.

"We need to do more and do it better." Lippi said. "Our opponent didn't do anything, they just kept things in check."

The South Americans did enough for a tie. Defender Antolin Alcaraz scored on a header in the 39th minute of the Group F match played in Cape Town, South Africa. "I can't describe what I feel. Playing a World Cup is something very special," Alcaraz said.

Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi equalized from close range in the 63rd after a miscue by goalkeeper Justo Villar.

Already without injured midfielder Andrea Pirlo, Italy's fortunes took another hit when it lost perhaps its most valuable player, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, after the first half. The 32-year-old Buffon was removed due to a back injury, replaced by inexperienced backup Federico Marchetti.

"He had a back problem. I hope he returns for the next game, but that will be up to the doctors," Lippi said.

Buffon said not to worry, he will be ready. He said the problem was with his sciatic nerve and that he "hopes to recover in two days." De Rossi made up for the opening goal, sliding in to redirect a corner kick from Simone Pepe. It was a solid start for the midfielder who was suspended for four games during Italy's victorious 2006 run after bloodying the face of U.S. forward Brian McBride with an elbow.

After a day of often intense rain, the match kicked off under a drizzle, leaving the field slippery. Temperatures stood at 46 degrees, but the swirling winds coming off the ocean made it feel colder.

There were relatively few fans from Italy and Paraguay among the near-capacity crowd of 62,869 at Green Point Stadium.

"It was a good result, though we can't say we played really well," Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino said. "We have to take into account who is who. It's not easy to play first against the last world champion."

Netherlands beats Denmark

The Netherlands surged into the World Cup with one of the globe's fiercest attacks. It took some luck to get that offense on track in Johannesburg. The Dutch got an own goal in the 46th minute and beat Denmark, 2-0, failing to break through on their own until the 85th, when Dirk Kuyt tapped in a rebound off the post from close range.

"We wanted to play beautiful soccer but we lost the ball," said Netherlands coach Bert Van Marwijk, whose team did not lose a game in qualifying. But "from time to time you could see how good we can be." The Netherlands took the lead when Denmark defender Simon Poulsen headed a ball off the back of teammate Daniel Agger and into the net. Poulsen had been trying to clear a cross from Robin van Persie.

"That was like a bucket of cold water over our heads," Denmark coach Morten Olsen said. "Simon Poulsen was one of our better players but he was unlucky. It's one of those things that happens in soccer."

Poulsen said he saw the ball too late, and that it "practically hit me in the face. I was just thinking, this can't be happening." - AP